The Day Will Rise (Dayhound Saga Book 1)
by Whatever I want to write about
Summary: Daniel is a 16-year-old with clinical depression. He tried to kill himself a year ago but failed thanks to his twin brother Kameron. Now, he and his family are moving to Gotham City from Metropolis because the brothers gained scholarships to Gotham High. It is in Gotham where Danny will realize his calling as hooded vigilante; The Dayhound. Finally completed!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Think of this as a new start, Danny..." My mother said, as we drove into Gotham City.

"I had a good thing going in Metropolis..." I replied angrily back.

"Oh really? Your brother told me otherwise, he said... What did you say, Kameron?"

"I am staying out of this." Kam said, panicked.

"Well you're happy we are moving, right?"

"Yes, I have a better chance of being recruited by Gotham U." He replied to her question, then turning to me in the back seat, "Dan, why don't you try out for a sport? We're twins, maybe my skill would be shared with you? Like, twin telepathy or something?"

I smiled, and said, "Or maybe you took all the sporty talent?"

My mother smiled at this.

"I doubt it," she said happily, "your father was in VERY good shape."

Kam and I both looked at each other, eyes wide.

My mother never talked about my dad. Maybe this really was a new start.

Once we had gotten to our new apartment and unpacked, I went downstairs to check our mail. There were two packages for both Kam and me. They were from the Gotham School System. No doubt our school uniforms, and a few other supplies.

Kam was really good at football, so Gotham High had offered him a full scholarship to their school. I didn't even know private schools did that. Kam refused it at first, saying he wouldn't go without me. They replied to this refusal saying that they admired that, and would offer the both of us part of the tuition, meaning our whole little family would have to get jobs in Gotham. I didn't want to move from Metropolis, but Gotham High is one of the most prestigious high schools in the world, so my mother wouldn't let me refuse.

My mother got a job as some low-level secretary in the Wayne Incorporated building. This payed for the apartment, but she would have to work really bad hours in order to keep enough money for rent and necessities. She couldn't pay for any of the tuition though.

I headed towards the door that led toward the stairs. I had my hand around the handle when it burst open. I was knocked to the ground, and my packages went sprawling.

"Oh no! I am so sorry!" A girl cried out.

I rubbed my head, and tried to make the words come out, but they wouldn't.

"Here, let me help you." She said still panicked.

She picked up my packages and helped me up.

"Thanks... I-" I started to say, until I looked at her.

She had light brown hair, and brown eyes that sparkled ever so slightly. She had a thin nose, and high cheekbones. She was absolutely beautiful.

She giggled, and I blushed.

"Here are your packages, Da- Whatever your name is."

I blushed again then took them. "Daniel Wilson. You can call me Danny. Or Dan. Or just whatever you want. Thanks." I stammered out awkwardly.

"I'm Megan Morse." She said with a smile. He teeth were straight and a milky white. She handed me my packages. We stood there awkwardly for a minute.

"Well I'll see ya later, Danny." She said, smiling again.

"See ya..." I said very awkwardly.

She left the building, and I went upstairs.

When I got up there, Kam was waiting for me.

"Didja see Megan? She's going to Gotham High too. And she lived next to us. Just thought you might be interested..." He asked me, winking. I blushed, and jokingly flipped him off. He acted offended, and grabbed me in a headlock.

"Hey! Hands off! I have packages." I said to him.

He acted as though I had offended his honor when he let go, but I knew he was messing around.

"Is it our school stuff?" He asked as he let go.

"Nope, it's the money I won from Bruce Wayne." I said In a sarcastic manner.

"Again? What is that? The fifth time?" He asked, punching me in the shoulder softly. I handed him his package and we walked inside our apartment room.

"Oh, did the school supplies come?" My mother asked as we walked in. We both nodded, and Kam picked up a steak knife out of the drawer. He opened his box, and handed the knife in my direction. My mother scowled at him, and he opened my box instead of me.

Inside both boxes were our uniforms, our class schedules, and various forms of advertising, such as pens and pamphlets. I checked out my schedule.

I had Algebra 2 for first period, English 10 for second, P.E. for third, then lunch, then after I had (in this order) psychology, history, and health.

I compared classes with Kam, and we had history at the same time. He wasn't too interested in that though. He was more interested in telling our mother about Megan.

"So mom," he said, standing. He liked to make a big show out of it when he told something, "Did Dan tell you about his new 'friend?'"

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "No, but he probably didn't plan on telling me either. Please, Kam, do share."

He smiled. She was playing his game, and he always enjoyed that.

"So I actually met her in the hall just outside. She lives in the apartment across from us with her uncle." He started, playing it to be more dramatic than it is, "Right across from us. So anyway, she comes out, and I start talking to her. She tells me her name is Megan, and, like Dannyboy over here, is going to Gotham High tomorrow.

I was blushing by this time, my mother was laughing, and Kam was grinning like a madman.

"Look, you guys, I barely even know her..." I started to say.

"Ooh! I have an idea!" My mother said, "Why don't we invite her and her uncle over for dinner tonight?"

I blushed even more.

"Good idea mom!" Kam managed to get out through his laughs.

"Great! I'll head over to Mr. Jones' room right now and invite them."

"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked, still embarrassed.

My mother shook her head then went out the door.

Later that day, when we almost had dinner ready, we heard a knock at the door. I ran to answer it, but my mother got there first.

"Hello there, Mr. Jones!" She said with a smile, "Won't you come in?"

"I would be honored, Mrs. Samuels." He said as he and Megan came in.

"Oh no, it's Ms. Samuels. I wasn't ever married." She said, acting rather nonchalant. Megan looked at me and smiled, and Kam gave me a few nudges.

"My apologies, Ms. Samuels." Mr. Jones said.

"Oh it's fine! Actually, you can call me Linda."

"Very well. And you may call me John. This is my niece, Megan Morse. I believe she has already met both of your sons."

"Ah, yes, Megan! Danny has told me so much about you!" She said as though she were getting a kick out of this.

Both Megan and I blushed.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Samuels..." She said, embarrassed.

"Oh, you can call me Linda as well, I don't mind. Dinner is almost ready, why don't you two go sit at the table and we will have it there in a little bit." My mother said, urging them into the dining room.

"She's super cute, Danny." My mother whispered to me as they went into the dining room.

We finished dinner quickly and brought it into the dining room.

We set the food on the circular table, and then sat down. My mother sat on the left side of Mr. Jones, Kam nearly ran to sit by her, leaving me only one place to sit. Right by Megan.

When I had sat down, Mr. Jones and she looked at each other for a few seconds, as if they were talking, but they weren't. Apparently, I'm the only one who noticed, because when I looked at my family, they were distracted by the food.

"I hope you two like Japanese food, because that's really all the fancy food I know how to cook." My mother said, breaking the ice.

"It will be acceptable." Mr. Jones replied politely.

"So where do you work, John?" My mother asked him.

"I am a policeman."

"Oh really? How is that? Crime rate's pretty high, I heard."

"It is fine. Actually, the crime rate has gone down, since the appearance of the Batman, 7 years ago."

"I though that Batman wasn't real." My brother chimed in.

"Oh, Kameron, the Batman is definitely real." Mr. Jones said with a smile. I was pretty interested in this conversation now, being interested in Batman. I have always been interested in these "Super heroes," as people called them, since the first appearance of Batman. And obviously, Batman was my favorite. He was just so mysterious. Unfortunately for me, however, this was the last of the Batman talk in this conversation. After dinner, we all went into the living room to talk some more. My mother, John Jones, and Kam all took the chairs, so I sat on the ground. Megan sat right next to me, and my brother gave me a wink. I tried not to blush, but I believe I turned a little pink. Megan and Mr. Jones once again looked at each other for a second with that same, conversation-type look. Then, Mr. Jones turned towards my family.

"Why don't we talk about sports?" He suggested, out of the blue.

"Sure! I love myself some football." Kam said, suddenly excited.

"Uncle John, why don't Danny and I look around the building? I am not all that interested in sports and I have a feeling Dan isn't either." Megan said to her uncle. I felt my blood get hot.

"Very well, just be back before 10, you both have school tomorrow." Mr. Jones said with a smile.

My mother gave him a questioning look, but didn't say anything.

"C'mon Danny! I'll show you my favorite place." Megan said to me, yanking me up with surprising strength.

She and I ran all the way up the stairs to the door that led to the roof. She tried to yank it open, but it wouldn't budge. It was locked.

"Sorry Megan, looks like it's locked. I'm sure there's other places you like to go." I said as I started to go down the stairs. Then, I heard the door swing open.

"It was just stuck, Danny." Megan said smiling. I felt my heart melt and my stomach go up my throat, "c'mon, let's go up!" She said, still grinning like crazy. Man, she was beautiful. She took my hand and we went up, out into the open air.

"Danny, you seem like a pretty cool guy." She said, once we were up.

"I... Um... I... Thanks." I stammered out.

"Am I moving too fast?!" She asked, suddenly panicked, "I'm so, so, SOO sorry! I just think you're great, and you're nice, and you seem funny and-"

I cut off her rambling by touching her face on the cheek. She looked into my eyes, and I looked into hers.

"You are moving a little fast." I said to her finally, "but that's ok. You were homeschooled. You didn't have a lot of friends, and didn't know how to talk to boys all too well. I get that. Just don't do what you watch on tv or whatever and just let your instincts take over. Just go with the flow."

She nodded for a long time, still staring into my eyes.

"How about I get to know you, and you get to know me?" I asked eventually.

"Ok, I will start." She said quietly. "I was born in a very distant place. I was sort of homeschooled, so you were sort of right about that, I didn't have a lot of friends. Where I come from, the boys are the ones who talk to you, not the other way around. I watched tv to get my experience with life. I guess it wasn't too great of experience. I love being here on Ea-being here in Gotham City though, it's so... Different."

"Well Megan, I'm glad I know you a little better." I said, smiling

"How did you know all that stuff about me? Like the homeschooling stuff?"

"Because I'm a mind reader!" I said in a flirty tone.

"Nuh uh!" She said, Rolling her eyes.

"You're right. I am just really good at figuring stuff out about people."

"That's really cool. So what about you? Who really is Daniel Samuels?"

We were lying on our backs looking up at the stars. I took her hand in mine.

"Daniel Wilson, actually. My dad's last name was Wilson, and that's all I pretty much know about him. He left when Kam and I were babies. My mother says that he didn't want to leave, but he had to. I'm not sure I believe that though."

"Oh... Well I'm sorry." She said, regrettably.

"No, you're fine. I don't even know him."

"Ok. So where did you move here from?"

"Metropolis. Both my brother and I got partial scholarships to Gotham High."

"Oh, that's cool. I got a scholarship because of my uncle. Apparently, Bruce Wayne owed him a favor, so he gave me a scholarship."

"Oh wow! Did you meet Bruce Wayne?"

"No. So did you have a girlfriend in Metropolis?"

"No. I didn't even have friends."

"Ah... No one wanted to be friends with someone who tried to kill himself?"

I stared at her in shock, letting go of her hand.

"How did you...?" I eventually managed to stammer out.

"Oh I'm sorry!" She cried out, "I didn't think that was a sensitive topic!"

"It's fine, but how did you know that?!" I asked, still in shock.

"Well, you weren't allowed to handle a knife at the dinner table, and your mother ALMOST didn't let you come up here with me. And your brother really wanted you to be happy. That's why he didn't try to get me to like him, even though he met me first, so he could've had 'dibs.'"

Silently, I laid back down on the ground. Megan did the same.

"I'm sorry..." She sadly said after a while.

I grabbed her hand again, and turned to look at her. She had tears in her eyes, and a sad expression on her face.

"Look, Megan, it really is a sensitive topic for me." I started saying, "But I don't think it matters anymore. I'm here with my family. I have a new school in a new town, with tons of opportunities to make friends. You are really pretty but there is more than just a pretty face behind those eyes. You've just proved that. You're going to go on and do something special with your life. I want that for you. But right now, especially right now, I want you in my own life right now. Whether it be as a friend or more."

Tears were running down the both of our faces now. She was no longer making eye contact. I wanted her to, but she didn't. So I kissed her on the cheek. It was really nothing special, but to her and me at that exact moment, it was the best thing in the world.

Smiling, she whispered, "Now look who's moving too fast."

I laughed, then stood up, helping her up afterward. We went back down the stairs, and said goodbye when we got to our rooms.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I asked her

"Definitely." She replied as she went through her doorway.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I woke up in the morning, got out of bed, and got ready for school. I was the only one home. My mother was at work, and Kam left early to go to football.

I ate, brushed my teeth, put on my uniform, packed my things in my bag, and left the apartment. I thought about checking to see if Megan had left yet, but I didn't. Her uncle probably wouldn't appreciate it and neither would she, if she was here. I went down the stairs and out into the street. I would walk down to the bus stop, and take the bus uptown until I reached the school. It was raining, but it wouldn't be far until I got to the bus station. That seemed ok, until I saw the bus leaving.

"Wait!" I yelled, as I ran after it. Unfortunately, it didn't heed to my command, and sped up until it was out of sight. To make matters worse, it started raining harder.

"Oh what I wouldn't give to be the Flash right now..." I muttered under my breath, as I started running again.  
I had gone about 8 blocks when I had to stop. I sat on someone's front steps to take a break. I was exhausted. I had been sitting there for about thirty seconds, when a black Cadillac with tinted windows rolled on the road next to me. The back window closest to me rolled down.

"Need a ride?" A boy my age said from the back. He had black, messy hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a Gotham High uniform.

"Yeah..." I said, still panting, "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Hop in!"

I ran to the other side of the car and got in.

"Thanks a bunch, guy." I said to him.

"Oh it's no problem, we are headed to the same place. What's your name?" He asked me

"Daniel Wilson. Danny." I replied.

"Richard Grayson. Dick." He said back, shaking my hand. "So, I'm guessing you're new, right?"

"Yes, I moved here yesterday from Metropolis."

"Cool. Did you ever see Superman?"

"Nope. I saw him on tv a bunch though."

"Yeah, I see him on tv as well." He replied.

We got to the school. There was no one outside.

"Looks like you are late for your first day of school, Master Richard." The old British butler said in the front.  
"I'm ok with that, Alfred. See ya later." Dick replied back, hopping out of the car.

"Do keep him out of trouble, Mr. Wilson." Alfred told me.

"I'll try. Just call me Dan or Danny if you ever see me again."

"I probably won't." He said, as I got out of the car.

"So what's your first class?" Dick asked me as I got out of the car.

"Algebra 2."

"Hm... Second one?"

"English."

"Oh good, we have that one together. You and I are friends now, Dannyboy, ok?"

I laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Great. I'll see ya in English." He said before he ran off.

As I was walking to class, I thought of something. Why did Dick want to be friends with me?

I tried to think of a logical reason, but I couldn't. It made no sense to me. Clearly, he knew I wasn't rich, because he picked me up in the middle of a rainstorm in a bad neighborhood. Another question came to mind whilst pondering this.

Why did I feel so depressed? Then it hit me. I had forgotten to take my anti-depressants today. I take pills to stop me from getting depressed, and I have since my attempted suicide.

How could I have been so stupid? My mother made sure i took those pills everyday. Not only did my depression make me feel depressed, but it also effected my attention span, and my physical well being. If I got depressed enough, then I would often get sick.

I got into class, and tried to take my mind off my grief.

Luckily for me, there was someone I wanted to see in my class. Megan was sitting there, an empty desk right next to hers.

"Boy, am I glad to see you." I whispered to her as I sat down.

"You look like crap. What happened?" She worriedly asked

"I just missed the bus. I walked part of the way but I got picked up by some kid named Dick Grayson."

"You're gonna catch a cold..."

"Don't worry, right now that is probably the best thing that could happen."

At this point, the teacher, Mrs. Kain, was scowling at us, so we quit talking.

After we quit talking, I tried to pay attention, I really did, but I just couldn't. I felt sick and depressed. Megan somehow knew there was something wrong, because she passed me a note that said, "Don't worry, be happy."

I mouthed to her, "What is this?"

She mouthed back, "I'll tell you later."

Class went on, but my mind didn't. I don't even remember what I thought about, because every time I would get a new thought, or get distracted I would lose what I was just thinking about.

After what seemed like an eternity of agony, class ended. I got up, and went into the hall. Megan was close behind, and caught up to me.

"Why didn't you tell me you had depression?" She asked with concern.

"How did you know that?" I asked back.

"Um... Well... Your brother told me." She replied.

"My brother, as in, Kam?"

"Yes. When I was at cheerleader tryouts today, your brother and I talked, and it just kinda came up."  
I gave her a questioning look, but didn't discuss it any longer.

"So you're a cheerleader now, eh?" I asked her after a moment of silence.

"I don't know yet, I will find out at lunch."

"Well, I hope you make it!" I replied happily.

"Me too. I'm really nervous. Hey, speaking of cheerleading, you should try out for a sport!"

This made me laugh.

"You really have been talking to Kam. I dunno, I'm not terribly good at sports."

"C'mon! I'm sure you'd be great at something! It's not too late to try out for football." She said, nudging me on the arm with her elbow.

"I'll think about it." I said with a smile. "I'll see ya at lunch."

"See ya!" She said back, as she walked down the hall opposite of where I was going.

I got to my English class, and saw Dick.

"Hey Danny! Come over here!" He said, waving at me.

I came over and sat in the desk next to his.

"Since we're friends, you need to tell me your interests." He said once I had sat down.

"I'm pretty simple. I like superheroes." I replied

"Oh really? Who's your favorite?"

"Batman. He could be anyone. Plus, he doesn't need powers to take on villains like Bane."  
"I'm right there with ya, but I don't know if Batman's my favorite. I'm kind of a Robin guy."

"Robin? Seriously? He's cool, but he's no Batman. I mean... Look at his tights."

Dick seemed somewhat offended.

"He doesn't wear them anymore! He wears pant's now, thank you very much!"

"Sorry man, didn't know it meant so much to you." I said mockingly.

The bell rang.

"Haha, it's ok man, just don't go spreading around that Robin wears those shorts and tights anymore."

"Haha, ok man, ok."

"Thanks."

Then a woman who appeared to be in her mid-30's walked in.

"Sorry I'm late, class," she said as she entered, "I'm Ms. Di'Vè. I will be your English teacher for this year. I just want to let you all know, that if you need any help or anything you can come see me. I'm going to call attendance now, then lay down some rules."

She pulled out the attendance sheet and started with the first name on the list, "Helena Bertinelli?"

"Here."

"She's the daughter of mafia boss, Franco Bertinelli." Dick whispered to me.

"How do you know that?" I asked him.

"Everyone knows that. You just know these things when you're from Gotham... Plus, Bruce always talks about the Bertinelli's a lot. Mostly bad things."

"Bruce?"

"My legal guardian. Bruce Wayne."

I looked at him in shock.

"Bruce Wayne?! As in, BILLIONIARE Bruce Wayne?"

Dick laughed at me. "Yeah man. I didn't know you'd be so shocked."

"Dude, my mom works for your dad."

"Really? I'll be sure to put in a good word for her." He said, still laughing.  
"Mr. Grayson, are you here or are you absent?" Ms. Di'Vè asked.

"Oh!" Dick said, suddenly paying attention, "Sorry, I'm here."

"Maybe you ought to pay attention, Mr. Grayson."

"Sorry, I was up late last night."

"Then get to bed earlier. Quentin Heiner?"

"Trust me, I would if I could..." Dick muttered as she called the next name.

After a little while longer, she got to the last name on the list; mine.

"Daniel Wilson?"

"Here." I replied quietly.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Kamer-" She said, looking up from her paper. "Oh, never mind! I didn't know he had a twin."

She then pulled out a new piece of paper.

"I wasn't going to do this, but Mr. Grayson has forced my hand with his talking. I'm giving you assigned seats."

The class groaned.

"If you wanna complain, complain to Dick."

I was put in the very far right. Right next to the very person who I didn't want to be put next to, Helena Bertinelli. She was silent for a little while, but spoke after a little while.

"I'm Helena." She said, extending a hand.

I looked at it for a second.

"Daniel." I said, shaking it.

She was silent for a second, as she bit her lower lip.

"So... You're new?" She asked eventually.

"Yeah."

"That's cool. Where did you move from?"

"Metropolis."

"Cool. I have a cousin who lives there."

"Wow, that's pretty cool."

"Yeah... Look, whatever Dick told you about me, isn't true."

I looked at her face for the first time. The first thing I noticed were her eyes. They were a bright, deep blue. Imagine an ocean in your mind. Not a real one, but one that you would see in a painting. THAT is the color her eyes were. I got lost in them. Then, I remembered whose eyes they were.

"So your father isn't a mob boss?" I said to her, almost angrily.

She looked hurt. "Well, yes, but-"

"And he hasn't killed anyone?"

I said, sounding even angrier.

"Look, I... Never mind..."

She looked down at her paper she was writing. She had a hurt expression on her face. I felt guilty.

"Look, Helena-" I started to say.

"Daniel, please stop talking." Ms. Di'vè said. "Others are trying to work on their essays, which are due tomorrow. I suggest you start doing the same."

"Sorry, Ms. D!" I said, as I looked down, writing my paper. We had to write about ourselves. Pretty much anything we wanted to write about ourselves.

The bell rang, and Helena was out of there before I could even pick up my stuff. I was determined to apologize to her though.

I got out into the hall, and saw her.

"Helena, wait up!" I called out to her, running to catch up. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I shouldn't have been such a jerk."

"You seemed different, Daniel. Like, you wouldn't judge me for who my father is. I guess I was wrong." She replied, still looking hurt.

"That's not me though. Look, I... I've had a rough day so far and-"

"It's only after second period!" She yelled at me.

The bell rang, meaning we had 1 minute to make it to class.

"Yeah, and I forgot to take my meds! I feel depressed and sick! I've had a rough day." I yelled back. Then, silence.

"So, that's not you?" She asked, after the silence.

"No. I'm not a total jerk. I wanna make it up to you."

"Really? And how do you plan to make that up?"

"I don't know."

The bell rang. We were late.

"Well," she said, looking at her feet, "you could... Take me out to dinner..." She quietly said.

"Well... I really would, but there's one problem..."

"And what would that be?" She said angrily.

"I don't have any money. I have to get a job soon, and I promise, once I have money I will take you out, but I can't right now."

"Ok... I suppose that's a good reason. Here's my number. Call me when you have some money." She said, flirtatiously.

"I'll see ya around." I called out to her as I started running to class.

"See ya!" She called back.

I walked into the Gym.

"You must be Daniel Wilson. You're late. Get changed, and do ten laps!" The coach barked at me.

I went into the locker room, and got changed. I did my laps for being late. I was in surprisingly better shape than I thought, because I didn't stop.

"Alright, Wilson. Let's see if you have the talent of your brother." He said, tossing me a football.

I tried to catch it the way I had always seem Kameron do it at the football games, but it didn't work out that way. I imagine it looked like I was playing hot potato by myself. After about three volleys, I caught it with both arms.

"You're QB!" The coach barked out as all the guys and girls got in a line, "Remember, this is two-hand touch. Anyone tackles, 100 push ups. No exceptions. Pick first, Wilson."

"Pick what first?" I asked

"Your player, Wilson, pick your first player!"

"Um... Ok... Um... You." I said pointing at a kid. I didn't know anyone, so I just picked the tall, black, athletic-looking kid who was making eye contact with me.

"Great, thanks man." He said, offering his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Roger. Roger Philips."

I shook his hand. "Daniel Wilson. Danny."

"Great man. So, you need me to tell you who to pick, right?"

I nodded as the coach barked out that it was my turn to pick.

Roger told me who I should pick, and I think we got a pretty good team together.

Then started the game. We got the ball first, and were able to make a touchdown thanks to Roger. He was the running back on the school team, and he was fast. As the game went on, we made some touchdowns, and they made some touchdowns, until the end.

I got pretty good at throwing the ball, but by the last play, it didn't even matter.

I hiked the ball. I dropped back like I had been told to. Then, I saw an attacker coming. I spun out of the way, only to run into a huge guy. 6'1, and probably 170 lbs. He nailed me at full speed, tackling me to the ground. I managed to stay awake for a second, but even Superman would have trouble staying awake after being hit that hard. I blacked out, hearing my name be called by someone who I couldn't identify.

I thought I had woken up. I was in the gym still, but there was no one around, and it was dark. There was a light coming through the exit, so I headed toward it. Something didn't feel right, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I exited the gym, and found myself in an alley in Gotham. It was raining, and I heard two gunshots come from the alley. A man ran out shortly. I felt as though I should chase him, but I couldn't. Instead, I walked down the alley.  
Kneeling over two dead bodies, was a boy, who was about the age of 8. He was crying. I took a step forward, but lightning flashed, and I fell down.

When I got back up, instead of a boy standing there, it was the Batman. He was no longer crying, but he looked sad. Lightning flashed once more, and a figure jumped down from a nearby rooftop, landing right next to Batman. Batman looked at him and nodded. The figure turned to me and stepped forward. He was in light now. I could see what he was wearing. He had on a white trench coat with a hood. He had finned gauntlets that ended at the elbow, and knee high boots that ended in a point. His outfit was white and a light gray, and he looked at me with gray eyes. Lightning flashed again, giving me a look at his face. Unfortunately, I didn't see much. His mouth and nose were covered by a gray scarf. Then, I heard a female voice.

"This is what you must become," the voice said, "seek Bruce Wayne. Seek the Batman. You must be the Dayhound."  
Then, I woke up.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Wilson? Wilson? You alright?" The coach's voice rang in my ears.

My eyes snapped open. Everything was blurry, but I could see the coach in front of my face. I tried to sit up, but couldn't.

"Wilson, are you ok?" The coach snapped at me again.

"I... Think so." I said slowly.

He helped me up.

"C'mon. Let's get you to the nurse's office." The coach said, holding me on my feet and helping me walk to the nurse's office.

When we got there, he sat me down on a chair, and he got me a ice pack.

"That was some hit." He said, giving me the ice pack.

"Yeah..." I said, taking it and putting it on my head.

"You're pretty good, Wilson. If we had a spot on the team, I'd offer you it."

"Well... Maybe some other time." I said, still foggy.

The nurse came out.

"Sorry Coach Crock, I was busy talking to my husband about something pretty important." She said.

"Oh, it's no problem, Mrs. Raleigh.

It's not like Danny-boy here was gonna die." He said, patting me on the back.

I gave a thumbs up, and stood up to follow Mrs. Raleigh into her office.  
I sat on the bed while she went over to her filing cabinet. She dug through a few charts, and pulled one out. She turned through the pages quickly.

"Daniel Wilson, correct?" She asked me.

"Yeah," I replied, then asked back: "how'd you know?"

"You look like your brother, but coach called you Danny-Boy. Your brother's name is Kameron."

"Right..."

I was starting to feel really depressed once again.

"I'm just gonna make sure you don't have a concussion real quick. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you answer them. Ready?"

I nodded as she asked the first question.

"Full name?"

"Daniel Striker Wilson."

"Mom's name?"

"Linda Samuels."

"Brother's name?"

"Kameron Steele Wilson."

"Ok, name all of your classes."

"Algebra, English, P.E., Psychology, History, and health."

"Good. It doesn't seem like you have any memory problems. Next test. Do you feel sick or nauseous? Do you have a headache?"

"Those aren't good questions to ask me today." I said, exasperating as I did."

"Ok? Next test." She said as she pulled out a pen light. She shined it in my eyes, testing my vision. "Good. Are you tired at all?"

"Not any more than I was." I said.

"Good. Well Danny, it looks like you're good to go. Head to lunch." She said waving me out. I started to leave, when she asked me something. I turned to her.

"What?" I said.

"Who's your therapist?" She asked me again.

"I dunno..." I said quietly as I looked down.

She looked at me awkwardly.

"Sorry... Touchy subject. Go to lunch."

I got my lunch out of my bag, and went to the lunch room. I saw Kam and felt like sitting by him and his friends, but I didn't. I didn't belong with them. They are cool and athletic. I'm just... Danny.

I couldn't find anyone else I had met, so I sat at an empty table. I ate a little bit, but wasn't all that hungry, so I just let the rest of my lunch sit. I pulled a notebook out of my bag and turned to the first page. There, I drew the outfit I had seen in my... Vision. I wrote above it "The Dayhound" and started shading the parts that appeared darker on it.

"What's that?" A familiar voice said from next to me.

I looked up, to see Dick sitting next to me. I hurried and put the notebook away without seeming like I was hiding something.

"Oh, just a weird thing." I said back to him.

He gave me a questioning look, but went back to eating.

Megan came and sat on my other side.

"Hey Danny! I haven't seen you since Algebra. How have you been?"

Then, Roger came from my brother's table and sat across from me.

"How has he been?" Roger said, building up to it the same way Kam does, "This guy got nailed! I can't believe he's still breathing!"

I smiled and shook my head.

"Are you okay?" Megan asked in a somewhat panicked tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a little thing." I replied.

"Just a little thing?" Roger said in disbelief, "Nah man, you got nailed so hard that Steel would've been knocked over."

I laughed, and Roger continued eating. Then, a red-haired girl who was a grade higher than us came and sat by Dick.

"Hey Babs!" Dick said, suddenly sitting up.

"Hey Dick. I need to talk to you about are plans later tonight." She said quietly.

"Plans? You mean, like a date?" He asked in shock.

"No! Keep dreaming, Grayson. Our OTHER plans!" She said angrily.

Dick looked confused for a moment, but then started nodding.

"Let's go by my locker then." He said, getting serious suddenly, "See you guys later!" He said, as they both left.

After they had gone, I saw Helena. I waved when she looked, and she waved back. I mouthed the words, "Come over here." But she shook her head.

"Hey! I forgot to tell you!" Megan said, turning to me, putting her hand on mine.

I looked at Megan. "What did you forget to tell me?" I asked her.

"I made the cheer squad!" She said excitedly.

"Hey that's great!" I replied

"You two gonna hug, or just sit there staring at each other?" Roger cut in.

We quickly faced forward, blushing and staring at the ground, making Roger laugh.

"You two are funny." He said. He suddenly looked off in another direction. "I'm gonna go get that girl's number. Be right back."

When he was gone, Megan started to talk again.

"Well... He is a charmer.." She said

"He's alright." I said

Megan looked at me funny.

"Are you ok?" She asked me "How's your 'problem?' You should head home."

"I'm fine!" I said angrily.

This got Kam's attention, and he came over.

"Hey Dan, you alright?" He said, sitting down across from me.

Sometimes, there are things that people won't understand about you or your family. Usually, it's just inside jokes or nonsensical silliness. My brother and I have those, yes, but we also have an unspoken link. There are times when we can know exactly what the other is thinking. I don't mean like most "best friends" can look at each other and know, I mean EXACTLY what the other is thinking. We don't even have to be in the same place. That's how Kameron stopped me from killing myself. I was at home, he was at the park, playing football with some friends. I was very depressed, and Kam felt it. Luckily, he managed to get there before I had done it.

Anyways, back to the point. This was one of those times. He looked at my gray eyes, and I looked at his blue ones.

"You forgot to take your meds today." He stated, suddenly serious.

Slowly, I nodded.

"Let me run home some for you." He said back.

"Our building is twenty blocks away. You'd be late for class." I said to him.

"That's worth it." He said as he stood up and went toward the exit to the school.

After a moment of silence, Megan chimed in.

"What was that?" She asked, flabbergasted.

I turned back to her.

"It was nothing. Just... Twin stuff." I replied.

She then muttered something that sounded like, "You humans are weird..." but was barely audible to me.

"What did you just say?" I asked her.

"Hm? Oh nothing... Just uh... It's almost time for class." She said quickly.

Then the bell rang.

"See? Time for class. Bye! See ya later!" She said as she got up and swiftly walked toward her next class.

"Bye?" I said as I waved to her.

I didn't feel like heading to class straight away, so I didn't. I needed to take a walk. I needed to clear my head.

I went outside, and decided to head north a little ways. Not far enough to be gone for an hour, just enough to clear my mind.

I had been walking for a while, probably fifteen minutes, when I heard a noise come from an alley. It sounded strange, and I almost kept walking past it, but something stopped me. I decided to investigate.

Carefully, I walked down the alley. There was a commotion coming from around the corner. As I approached the junction, I heard fighting. Instinct told me to run, but I didn't. Instead, I put my back up against the wall, and peeked around the angle. There were 5 guys fighting... A teenage girl?

"Wodahs sniahc!" She yelled, waving what seemed to be a magic wand. Chains appeared around the ankles and wrists of all of the guys, who I could tell now were criminals.

After witnessing this, I got a good look at the girl. She had long black hair with light blue eyes. She wore some sort of a suit (bow tie and all) with fishnet tights and high-heeled, knee-high boots. She turned around, towards the shadows.

"Well father? Did I do well?" She spoke to an unseen figure.

I could not believe who I saw step out of the shadows. It was Giovanni Zatara, master magician, ambassador, and super hero. I nearly gasped. There I was, watching a member of the Justice League talk to his daughter.

"Yes, Zatanna, you did fine." He said, smiling.

"Dad, I don't want to do 'just fine.' I want to be just perfect." His daughter said back, clearly frustrated.

"One day, you will. But that-" Zatara started to say, suddenly stopping.

"Dad? Are you ok?" Zatanna asked in a worried tone.

"The Arbiter. He watches." He replied, staring off into the distance.

"The Arbiter? You mean..." She asked, being cut off by a nod from Zatara, "Well why don't we find him? He's clearly close enough to watch us, we can find him and train him!"

Zatara shook his head. "No daughter. In time, we will, but he is not yet prepared. Let him gain strength, then, when he is ready, we will be there. Take us home."

Zatanna nodded, then the two teleported away. I ran out of the alley. Did I really just see what I saw? What would happen if I told anyone? And who was this "Arbiter" person they were talking about. So many questions that went unanswered raced through my mind. Then, I remembered I had class.

"And that class, is why the Batman is not someone to look up to. Ah, Mr. Wilson, you're late, I see. You really aren't making a good first impression on me." The man, who was the psychology teacher, said as I walked in.

"Sorry, I uh... Took a walk." I said back, sounding guilty.

"I'm sure you were, I'm sure you were. Anyways, have a seat. My name is Mr. Sparrow, and if it weren't the first day of school, I would give you a five page essay due tomorrow, for being late."

I looked around for someone I knew, but to no avail. I guess no one I knew was interested in psychology. I can't say I blame them, after being in that class for ten minutes. Mr. Sparrow lectured us on how there was no such thing as "normal behavior." For ten whole minutes!

I got bored and depressed, so I started drawing in my notebook. I didn't know what I was drawing. I just started with a few lines, and went on from there. What I drew, was something I'd never seen before. It was a sort of dragon looking creature, with no legs and a short snout. It surprised me. What was it? And why had I drawn it? More unanswered questions.

"Daniel," Mr. Sparrow said , breaking my train of thought, "are you even paying attention?"

"To be honest, Mr. Sparrow, I really can't pay attention right now." I said back, regretting I had.

"Why not?"

"That's kinda personal. I promise, after today I will have my full attention turned towards you."

"Ok, I'll hold you to that, Daniel." He said. After we had finished this conversation, the bell rang, indicating it was time for me to go to history. I was actually glad I was. Kameron would have my pills, and I'd be able to tell him about Zatara and his daughter.

I was walking to class, when a hand grabbed my shoulder. I spun around to see Kameron holding a zip-lock snack bag with two white pills in it.

"There you go, brother." He said, handing them to me.

"Dude, you'll never guess what I saw!" I practically yelled at him.

"Calm down, Danny! Take your pills, then you can tell me." He said as though he were talking to a child.

I swallowed my meds, then I started talking again.

"Kam, I saw Zatara!" I said to him

"Wait, you mean, like, Master-Magician, Super Hero Zatara?" He replied

"The very same."

"Are hallucinations part of depression?"

I punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Okay, okay, Wildcat, I believe you. Where did you see him at?"

"In an alley a few blocks away. I'll show you after school."

"Never mind that! C'mon, let's ditch history."

He led me out the door, where I took point. I showed him the place where I had seen Zatara. He inspected the area.

"Unless Zatara wears high heels, I don't think you say him..." Kam said, pointing at one of Zatanna's footprints in the dirt.

"He had a girl with him. His daughter." I said back swiftly.

"He has a daughter? Since when?" He asked in disbelief.

"A little while. She looks about a year older than us ."

There was a moment of silence.

"...Is she hot?" Kameron finally asked. I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"C'mon man, you saw her. Is she hot?" He said in a slightly angry tone.

"Smoking. She has really nice legs." I replied, rolling my eyes again.

"You dog! Did you talk to them?"

"No! What would Zatara think if he saw me gawking at his daughter's legs?" I said jokingly.

Kam punched me playfully in the shoulder. "Dude! Next time, you gotta get her number! If you're too into Megan, then you can at least get it for me!"

"I'll remember that." I said, winking. I turned around to leave, when Kam spoke again.

"Hey, Dan, there's somthin' I gotta talk to you about." He said quietly.

"What is it?" I said, turning around again.

"So... There's a rumor goin' around. About you... and Helena Bertinelli." He said, acting as though this conversation pained him.

"So?" I said slowly, cocking my eyebrow.

"Man, I want you to stay away from that girl. She's trouble."

"No." I said bluntly.

"What?" Kam said with shock.

"No. I'm not gonna stay away from her. She's been nothing but nice to me, and given me no reason to stay away from her." I said, getting fired up.

"Dude, seriously. Even if she is a nice person, she has a bad reputation. I don't want you caught up in that. Just take my advice and-" Kameron started to say, before being cut off by me.

"No, Kam!" I said, now yelling, "I don't want you telling me how to live. You may have saved my life, but that doesn't mean you can control it! Helena's my friend, and she's gonna stay that way."

I stormed out of the alley.

"Dan, wait!" Kameron said as he started following me. "I'm just trying to watch out for you!"

"I don't need you to!" I yelled back at him as I started running. I forgot for a moment that he was the running back on the football team.

He easily caught up to me and tried to grab my arm. I yanked out of his grip and started running faster. He caught up to me again, but instead this time, he tackled me onto the concrete. I grunted in pain as I was lifted back to my feet by him.

"You can't run from me, Danny. I'm faster and stronger. You need to listen-" He started to say. He stopped saying it because I punched him. I don't know why, but I did. I have him a left hook in the jaw. He dropped back, stunned by my blow.

"Ouch!" He said, as he recovered. I opened my mouth to say something to him but no words came out. He raised his fist, and I cowered back, shielding my face with my arms, anticipating a blow that never came.

Instead of hitting me, Kameron just walked right past me, towards the school.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I stood on the sidewalk for probably five minutes. I was completely stunned at what had just happened. How could I hit my own brother who was just trying to look out for me? How come he didn't hit me back? This day seemed full of unanswered questions.

I really didn't feel like going back to school. I thought about going home, but I didn't. I just started walking. I felt super depressed. My pills should've kicked in by now, but it didn't feel like the had. Had Kameron grabbed the wrong pills? No, there is no way he could've. This depression spell was just stronger than the medicine.

I walked for who knows how long until I reached the Wayne inc. building. I pondered whether I should go in or not. On one hand, my mother might be able to help. On the other, she might be really pissed off that I wasn't in school. I decided to take those chances and head in anyways.

It was really fancy in there. This was the kind of place that people say has the floors paved with gold. They weren't really, but I wouldn't have been surprised if they were. I headed to the front desk.

"Excuse me?" I said, trying to get the secretary's attention.

"Welcome to Wayne incorporated. How may I- aren't you supposed to be in school?" She questioned me in an interrogating tone.

"I dunno. I need to find my mom. Linda Samuels?"

"Linda Samuels? Is she the new secretary?"

"Yes! Can you tell me where she is?"

"Hm... I think, I'm not sure, I think she is on floor 39. Lucius Fox's office."

"Thanks." I said promptly, as I headed towards the elevator.

I walked in, and made myself comfortable in the corner. I was the only person in the elevator. I pushed the button that said "39" and the doors started to close.

"Hold that door!" A man said from outside the elevator. I put my hand in the almost shut doors and pulled one. They opened, and in stepped a tall man with black hair, blue eyes and a fancy suit on.

"Thanks kid!" The man said, "Floor thirt- oh! You're already headed there, sweet. Say, aren't you supposed to be in school."

I didn't feel that talkative, so I just nodded my head.

"Well... Not my business, I suppose. Plus, I skipped school plenty of times as a kid."

The rest of the elevator ride was quiet as we rode to floor thirty-nine. We both got out, and he started to walk away.

"Hey, wait." I said to him. He turned around and looked at me. "Do you know where Lucius Fox's office is? My mom's his secretary, and I gotta find her."

"What a coincidence! That's where I'm headed. C'mon, I'll show you."

He guided me to a waiting room, where my mom was sitting behind a desk.

"Daniel Wilson! What on earth are you doing here and not-" she said, as she started to chew me out, before realizing that the man was standing there. When she saw him, she bolted up and promptly said, "Mr. Wayne! What are you doing here?"

"Just here to see Mr. Fox about a... Business thing. I assume he's not busy?" The man asked my mother

"Oh no, he isn't busy at all. Go on in." She said, waving him on in.

"Thanks! Try not to chew him out too bad-" Mr. Wayne started to say to my mother before I cut him off.

"Mr. Wayne, as in, Bruce Wayne?"  
I asked him.

He chuckled, then nodded his head.

"I need to speak to you about-" I started to say before my mother cut me off.

"Danny, Mr. Wayne is too busy to talk-"

"Hold it." Wayne said, stopping my mother. "About what, Danny?"

"About... Dick." I said, quickly making up a reason. I didn't really need to talk to him about his son, I just didn't want my mother to know what I really needed to say to him.

"Well, go ahead. I have a little time."

"Actually, Mr. Wayne... It's kind of private. I think only you should know."

If I didn't know any better, I'd say he had a worried look on his face for a second.

"Ok... Let's head into Lucius's office. Anything I can know, he can know."

We stepped into his office. It was roomy, and seemed quite comfortable.

"Mr. Wayne! What an unexpected but welcome surprise. My apologies, I need to use the restroom. Be back in a flash!" A short black man who I'm assuming was Mr. Fox, said as he walked out.

"What is it, Danny?" Wayne said, getting serious.

"It's not about Dick, actually, sir. I-" I said, being cut off by Wayne.

"It better be pretty important." He said, seeming angry.

"It is. You see... I know you're Batman."

He started laughing at me.

"Good one, Danny. Me? Batman! Ha! So are you friends with Dick?"

"I'm not joking, Mr. Wayne. I know without a doubt that you are Batman. I was told to seek you out."

"By whom?"

"Well, I don't exactly know who she was..."

"Look, kid, everyone knows I'm not Batman. When Batman first appeared, Captain Gordan interviewed me and confirmed I wasn't Batman. So, I'll see you later." He said, trying to get me out.

What I did next was completely crazy. If I had been wrong, I could've gone to jail and lost Dick as a friend.

As fast as lightning, I grabbed the nearest object, in this case, a lamp, and swung it at Wayne. He blocked it, and shook his head. I tried to drive my knee into his chest, but was blocked again. There is no way someone could've moved that fast if they weren't a super hero.

"What is wrong with you?" He whispered to me.

"You just proved you are Batman." I said back with a smile.

"Maybe I'm just-"

"No more excuses, Wayne. You're Batman, and I know it."

"Alright... Meet me up at my office in 5 minutes." He said, opening the door for me.

"Well, how was-" my mom started to say

"Fine. Going back to school now, bye!" I said as I practically ran to the elevator.

I pressed the button for the top floor. I rode the elevator all the way up, and headed down the Hallway when I got there I opened the door. I felt a sharp pain on my head and everything went black.

I was fuzzy when I woke up, and all I could see was a bright light in front of me. I was tied to a chair.

"You're going to tell me the truth and nothing but." Wayne's voice said from behind me.

"I saw it. In a vision I had while I was knocked out earlier today." I said back.

There was a moment of silence.

"Describe it. Every little detail."

I spent the next five minutes describing the vision to Wayne.

"I still don't believe you." He said, drawing closer.

"Wait! I can tell you how I know it was a vision and not a dream!" I said, sounding panicked.

Another moment of silence.

"Go ahead."

"Ok... You're mother. She was wearing a teal dress. The top was cut just below her collar bones, and she wore a lighter colored sweater above her dress. She had on a gold and diamond right with the words 'Love is Real' inscribed on it. Before she was shot, she had on a necklace made of pearls. There were 43 of them. Her hair was in ringlets."

Wayne was silent.

"I can tell you exactly what your dad was wearing also." I said to him.

"It was aqua."

"What?"

"My mother's dress. It was aqua, not teal. There is a subtle difference. I believe you."

The bands came off, and the lights came on.

We were still in Bruce Wayne's office. Lucius Fox sat across from me, and Bruce walked into my view.

"Get back to school. Be at my house tomorrow right after school. Tell your mother I gave you a job." Bruce said to me.

"Will I get paid? Sorry, I kinda need the money." I asked

"Yes, I will pay you. But you have to do other jobs besides being trained."

"Trained?"

"Trained. I'm going to train you to be this hero you saw. I will have Alfred make the outfit."

"Ok. I have a drawing of it right in-"

"No need. I took it while you were out. Get back to school."

When I got out into the street, I couldn't believe it. Gotham City really was a new start for me.

When I got back to school, there was half an hour left. I thought about just leaving and heading home, when I saw Helena.

"Danny! Hey!" She called out, waving.

I waved, then walked over to her.

"I didn't know you skipped school. You seemed like the goody-two shoes type." She said flirtatiously.

"Hey, I can break the rules every once in a while." I said, winking.

"Well I love it." She said, getting slightly closer. "So what class are you skipping?"

"Health, but I also skipped History."

"Hey! Me too! I'm skipping health. I didn't skip history."

"Cool." I said as I smiled at her. Man, those eyes were gorgeous.

"You wanna... Go do something?" She asked me, biting her lower lip.

"Like what?" I said as I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we could go get on the roof of a building and talk for a little bit."

"Sounds good."

We ran over to a building and climbed up the stairs. The roof access was unlocked, so we were able to get up there.

"So, what do you like, Danny?" Helena asked me.

"Well, this sounds kinda lame, but I really like superheroes." I said, looking at the ground.

"I dunno, Danny, it sounds pretty cool to me. As long as you don't like the girl ones just because they are hot."

I laughed then asked her about her interests.

"Well, I also like superheroes, probably not as much as you, and I really like boys." Helena said, winking. I blushed.

"Ok, Danny-boy, tell me something. What's something you've always really wanted to do but haven't yet?"

"Hm... Well, this sounds dumb, but I've never actually kissed anyone on the moth before." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"Really?" Helena asked in disbelief.

"Really."

"Well... I would let you kiss me right now," Helena said, "But this situation isn't romantic enough."

I laughed and shook my head. "Yes, because all you care about is romance." I said, chuckling.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, acting offended.

"Hey, all I'm saying, is that I've heard rumors. They may more may not be true, and I know all of them aren't, but whatever."

She let out a puff of breath from her mouth, then playfully pushed me.

"Hey, I can be romantic if I want to!" She said.

"I'm sure you can. You just haven't been with any other guys at school. You just made out with them when the opportunity arose."

"Well you know what? You and I aren't gonna be that way. I'm only gonna let you kiss me when it's romantically acceptable."

"Really? Ok, I'll hold ya to that."  
We both laughed and were silent for a little bit.

"So... What's up with you and that new girl Megan, if you don't mind me asking?" Helena asked me, "You aren't like, going out with her, are you?"

"Nah. I like her, probably as much as I like you, but we aren't going out." I replied.

"Oh."

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you sad!" I said in a panicky tone.

"It's ok. I suppose I need a little competition." She said, winking.

"Haha, that's good."

"Well Danny, I'm going home. See ya tomorrow?"

"Of course." I said, as we both left the roof. She headed towards the school parking lot as I started for the bus stop.

"You need a ride?" She asked me. I nodded and followed her.

We got to this deep purple Porsche convertible.

"Holy... Wow." I said in awe.

"Like her?" Helena said, chuckling, "I got it yesterday for my sixteenth birthday."

"Oh! Happy late birthday then!"

She giggled. "You are too cute, Daniel Wilson. Hop in."

I did as she said, while she did the same. She started the car and sped away from the school while I directed her to my house. We were almost there, when blue and red lights started flashing behind us. Helena said something under her breath as she pulled over.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." She said assuringly.

"How fast were you going?" I asked her, frightened.

"Not the speed limit. Don't worry, I'll handle this." She said assuringly once again. I could not understand how she could be so calm, until the policeman came up.

"M'am, do you realize how fast you were going." He said to Helena.

"Of course I do, Officer... Umbrage, Badge number 215836." She said back.

"Don't get mouthy with me, I am-" he started to say.

"Don't tell me what to do. My father is Franco Bertinelli, I can be mouthy with you if I want."

The officer's face went ghost white. He tore the ticket he had been writing and told us to have a nice day as he left.

"Helena! You can't just-" I started to say before she put her finger over my mouth.

"Shh... Just a little advantage of being a Crime Lord's daughter. Now, let's take you home."

I couldn't believe that she had just done that, and I couldn't believe how scared the cop was. This was definitely a dangerous girl to be with.

Then I thought of Megan. What if Helena tried to hurt her? I thought about asking her if she wouldn't, but I was still shaken up about the event that had just taken place. I had to be sure to watch Megan extra carefully when I was a hero.

We rolled up next to my building.

"See ya tomorrow?" Helena asked

"You betcha." I said with a smile as I got out of the Porsche. I watched Helena drive off, and went inside. I ran up the stairs up to my apartment.  
I unlocked the door and went inside.

"Who was that?" My mother asked as I walked in. I was surprised to see her.

"My friend." I replied as I walked towards my room.

"What's her name?" my mother said.

"Helena." I said, shrugging.

"Helena what?"

"Helena Bertinelli, but look-"

"You're brother was right! Don't you know how dangerous the Bertinelli's are? They-"

"Mom! Quit it!" I yelled at her,  
"Helena's a friend. She's nice. She's different."

"It doesn't matter if she is! Her father's a crime lord, you understand? If you don't give that girl exactly what she wants, he could kill you!"

"What am I supposed to do then? I like Helena! I don't care what you, Kam, or anyone else has to say, she is different than people say she is!" I yelled as I went out the door, slamming it behind me.

"Hello Daniel." Mr. Jones said from his door across the hall, "Fighting with your family?"

"It's really none of your business." I said back, trying to sound polite.

"Why don't you come in? I know that you aren't going to stay at your house, so you might as well come into mine."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm good." I said as I started walking toward the stairs. Mr. Jones grabbed my shoulder.

"Daniel, please. It would ease my my mind greatly." He said seriously.

"Ok." I said quietly as I followed him in.

"Me'gann is at cheerleading practice, so she isn't here, but if you need to talk, I am." Mr. Jones said, putting his mail on the counter.

"What?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said Meegon..."

"Oh! Excuse me! I meant Megan, of course. I just had a mind loss."

"I see..." I said, sitting down.

"So, what are you and your mother fighting about?" Jones said, sitting across from me.

"Nothing." I said, shutting him out.

"I see... Are you alright, Daniel?" He said, dropping the fight.

"Fine. I'm just tired."

"Feel free to sleep. My house is your house."

"Thanks, Mr. Jones." I said, as I took my shoes off.

"Just don't go into Megan's room. Ever." He said with a laugh, clearly joking, but meaning what he said.

"Haha, ok."

Before I knew it, I was out. I suppose I had a good reason too. I was exhausted. A lot happened today.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Danny, wake up." Megan's voice said.

I opened my eyes to see her.

"Rise and shine. Don't wanna miss the bus again, do ya?" She said, smiling.

"Is it morning already?" I said, looking to see where I was. I was still in John Jones' living room. I was in my pajamas though, and my bag and uniform (which was washed and... Ironed?) were on the table in the kitchen.

"Yup! Get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready." Megan replied.

"Breakfast?"

"Yup! I'm making us breakfast. Uncle John already left. He told me that your medication was on the counter in a plastic bag." She said as she walked toward the kitchen.

"You really didn't have to do that." I said to her.

"I know," she replied, turning around, "I wanted to."

I grabbed my uniform off the table and went into the bathroom to change. Once I was all changed, I went in the kitchen again.

"Here you go!" Megan said, putting a plate on the table, and going back into the kitchen to grab her own.

I sat down and investigated the plate. She had made bacon and sausages. She had also made an omelet that looked absolutely divine. Smelled that way too. Even though I was starving, I decided to wait for Megan. She came in a few seconds later and started eating her own food. Then I started. It tasted as good as it looked and smelled.

"Oh my goodness..." I said with my mouth full. Megan giggled.

"You like?" She said, still giggling.

"You're an angel." I exclaimed, then swallowed.

"So... This is off topic... But you and Helena Bertinelli...?"

"Oh. I am interested in her... But that doesn't mean I'm not into you. It's just... Complicated. But in my defense, you and I aren't going out so..."

"It's ok..." She disappointedly said, "you know what? I'm not gonna let that bring me down. I'm going to still like you, and win you from her."

I laughed at this.

"What?" She said, confused.

"Nothing. You're just cute, that's all." I said, winking, "Hey, Megan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"How are you happy all the time?"

"Well... I'm not happy ALL the time."

"Yes, but you're happy a lot."

"Danny, you have depression. What works for me won't necessarily work for you."

"I know..."

"Speaking of which!" She said, running back to the kitchen for a second and brining back a plastic bag, "here are your pills!"

"Thanks." I replied before I swallowed them.

"C'mon!" She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door, "we don't want to be late for school!"

There was a black Cadillac waiting outside.

"Danny!" Dick said from inside, "Hop in! I gotta talk to you!"

"Ok." I replied, moving towards the car.

"Sorry Meg, you can't come in. We need to talk about something... Private. Next time." Dick said to Megan.

"Ok..." Megan said sadly.

"Megan!" I said, watching her leave, "I'll make it up to you! I promise!"

She smiled. "You better!" She called out, walking toward the bus stop.

As I hopped in the Cadillac, it drove off in the opposite direction of school.

"Bruce told me you know he's Batman, so he's gonna train you." Dick started to say, "I thought you should also know that I am Robin, and Babs, Barbara Gordan, is Batgirl. Here, shove this in the bottom of your bag and cover it up the best you can."

"What is it?" I asked him, holding up the bundle of cloth.

"It's your outfit. In case anything REALLY bad happens during the day, Bruce likes us to keep these in our bags. He kinda has a plan for pretty much ever scenario."

"I do hope it fits you," Alfred said from the front, "Master Bruce may have a photographic memory, but that doesn't mean he can judge sizes."

"It will probably be fine, Alfred." Dick replied to him.

"So, where are we going?" I asked Dick.

"We are going to pick up Babs. She's Police Captain Gordon's daughter." Dick replied.

We rolled up to her house, and she got in.

"This the guy?" She asked Dick, who nodded as an answer. "Barbara Gordon. Batgirl."

"Danny." I said back.

"You tell anyone Bruce's secret and I will kill you." She said after that.

"I won't."

"Good. I'm glad we can come to an agreement."

School was quite boring. The highlights of my day were flirting with Megan and Helena. Really, I liked them both, but couldn't decide who I liked better. Kam still wouldn't talk to me, even when I tried talking to him. He was always one to hold grudges for a little bit, and I decided to give him some time.

After school, Alfred drove us all to Wayne Manor. All thoughts I had of Wayne Tower being the world's fanciest building were erased when I entered Wayne Manor. There was no time to marvel at the beauty of the building though. Bruce took us straight to the famous Batcave. No one outside the Bat Family had ever set foot in the cave, so I was super excited.

That is, until I actually started training. Bruce trained me himself. I soon realized that the whole billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne was just an act. Bruce Wayne wasn't a real person. He died in the alley with his parents. The man looked like the spoiled rich boy but wasn't. The man who was training me right now was Batman.

"You need to be faster, Dayhound!" He yelled at me. None of us were wearing our costumes, but I needed to get used to calling each other our new names in the field. "How else are you supposed to block that knee?"

"In my defense, Batman, I don't think a villain is gonna move that quickly." I replied back, exhausted and in pain.

"You'd be surprised. Robin, spar with him again."

"Yes sir!" Robin said as he got into his stance. I was about to get the crap kicked out of me. Again.

When it was finally time to go home, I was relieved. I had never been in so much pain. On the way home, Alfred was laughing at me.

"Master Daniel, is something the matter?" He asked, laughing as I got in the car.

"I'm too exhausted to insult you..." I stated, as I plopped down in the seat of the car.

He drove me home, and I could barely walk up the stairs to my apartment. It was ten o'clock, so everyone was bound to be awake.

"There's the working man now!" My mother exclaimed as I hobbled in, "how was work, honey?"

"Horrible. I'm going to bed." I said as I limped toward my room.

"Hold it! You need to meet Dr. Jackson first!"

"Who the fu-" I started to say before being cut off by a man. He looked about 40, he had hair that came down to his shoulders with a receding hair line, wire rimmed glasses, and a bushy mustache.

"Hello Daniel. I'm Dr. Kirk Jackson. I'll be your therapist." He said, standing up and extending a hand.

"My what?" I questioned, awfully confused.

"Your therapist. I know I'm not what you expected, but I believe I can help you."

"You have got to be kidding me." I said to my mother.

"Nope. I believe Dr. Jackson will be able to help you." She replied calmly back.

"If I wasn't so tired, I would totally leave the house again..." I muttered as I took another step towards my room.

"Wait, Daniel! Why don't we start now, hm? Just so you will be able to get used to this as soon as possible." Dr. Jackson said.

"Great idea! I'll even let you two use my room." My mother said.

"No, Ms. Samuels, it's alright. I have a feeling that Daniel prefers the roof tops, right?"

"Whatever..." I said, as I stammered toward the door. Dr. Jackson followed me out and we headed up onto the roof.

"So, Danny, how are- you don't mind if I call you Danny?" He asked. I nodded. "Sweet. How are you today?"

"Fine."

"Great. Look, Danny, I want you and I to be friends. You don't have to talk about depression or suicide, but you and I have to talk about something. It can be anything. Sports, animals, food, or even your problems. I am an excellent problem solver."

"Alright..." I said, thinking for a minute. "I do have a problem I need help with actually."

"Go on ahead. I'll listen."

"Ok... So there's this girl who I really like. She was actually the first person I met when I moved here. She's into me as well. This wouldn't be a problem if there wasn't another girl too."

"Another girl who you really like and digs you back?"

"Exactly. But this second girl happens to be a crime lord's daughter, so I'm kinda worried about the first girl. They both know about each other, and are actually, what's the word, competing (for lack if a better term) for my affections."

"Wow... Danny, that seems like a big issue."

"I know. What should I do?"

"Hm..." He thought for a moment, "To be completely honest, just let them go at it. Date both of them. One will lose affection eventually. That's the good part about being your age. There's no promise."

"That's a pretty simple answer..." I replied.

"Yeah. Lots of life's problems have simple answers. And the Mob Boss's daughter, just make sure she doesn't hurt the first girl. Talk to her about it."

"Thanks, Doc."

"Danny, we are friends. Call me Kirk. I'll see you soon. Make sure you get to bed soon." He said as he left the roof.

I stayed up there for another five minutes, then went downstairs and went to bed.

I woke up early the next morning even more sore than I had been last night.

"What do you even do for your job?" Kam asked as I got up groaning. I was glad he had started talking to me again, but things still didn't feel the same.

"Lotta physical labor." I managed to groan out. I looked in my bag. In the bottom, there were clothes. These were just regular old street clothes, but underneath these clothes was a bundle that held my costume.

When Kam left the room to go to practice, I started my "conditioning" as Batman called it. Personally, I thought of it more as misery.

First, I had to do 100 sit-ups, then 100 push-ups. After that, I had to go to the pull-up bar (luckily, Kam had one) and do 100 if those, 50 overhand and 50 underhand. I had to do lots of exercises that were hard and long.

This feat was nearly impossible in the shape I was in, so I did the best I could. If I had known being a super hero was gonna be this hard, I probably wouldn't have done it.

After I was done conditioning, I got ready for school.

I continued in this routine for two weeks. I woke up at the break of dawn to condition myself, I went to school, then I went to Wayne Manor, where Robin, or Batgirl, or even Batman himself would spar with me, show me some moves, or take me through some extreme training. It was all in the Batcave though. I never once trained outside of it. Batman said that I wasn't ready yet.

On the Thursday of the second week, Bruce handed me an envelope after training.

"What's this?" I asked him

"Your pay. Enjoy. Don't spend it all in one place." He said back, going to get his costume on for the night.

"Hey, Bruce?" I said to him as he was leaving.

"What?" He said, turning around.

"When can I go out there, with you guys?"

"When you're ready. You're not yet. I will tell you when you are." He said, killing the conversation by leaving.

I left the manor. When I got in the car I opened my envelope. Inside, was a check for two-thousand dollars.

"Holy shi-" I started to exclaim.

"Master Daniel! Language!" Alfred said as he glared at me.

"Right... Sorry Alfred. It's just, this check! It's two-thousand bucks!"

"Yes, Master Bruce doesn't know the meaning of minimum wage. Sometimes, I think the only thing he cares about with his money is his... Hobby, for lack of a better term."

"You mean, Batman stuff?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. If it weren't for me, he would retreat to that little cave of his and become Batman permanently. Bruce Wayne would no longer be a person."

"Is that a bad thing."

"Very..." Alfred said as he glared at me in the rear view mirror. We rode the rest of the way in silence.

"Before you go," He said as he rolled up in front of my building, "Master Richard has been complaining about you."

"Oh? He jealous that I'm taking all Batman's training time?"

"No, he has been complaining about you and Ms. Bertinelli."

"Just don't, Alfred." I sternly said to him.

"I am not going to discourage you from her. I am just going to warn you, Master Daniel. Dangerous women may be attractive, I know from personal experience, but you need to be careful." Alfred warned. He was serious.

"I will, Alfred." I promised him as I left the car.

When I got out, I pulled our my cell phone to call Helena. I remembered my promise I had made when I met her, and I intended to keep it. She was the first one on my contact list, and I pushed the call button.

"Hey Danny!" She exclaimed as she answered.

"Hey Helena. You doing anything tomorrow night?" I asked her.

"Give me a sec... Doesn't seem like I am, why?"

"Because I am gonna take you to dinner." I said, with a smile.

"You have money?"

"Oh yeah, honey! How about it?"

"I'd love to! I won't be at school tomorrow because my dad is taking me to the 'office' tomorrow, but I should be free later."

"Great! When's a good time?"

"Six o'clock. Pick me up at my house?"

"You know it. See ya then."

"See ya! I'm super excited!" She said as she hung up the phone.

6 o'clock... That means I needed to arrange with Bruce to miss training. I hoped he would let me as I gave him a call.

"Dan, don't you know not to call me at this time? I could've been busy." He said, picking up the phone.

"I know, but this is important."

"What is it?" He asked me.

"I need to miss training tomor-" I started to say.

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you need to train."

"You don't even know why I need to miss!"

"I do. Your voice is higher pitched, and you seem half there. You have a date tomorrow. I know you only associate with two girls other than Barbara, so it either has to be Helena Bertinelli or Megan Morse. I'm guessing it's Helena, because Gotham High has a game in New York tomorrow."

"Just because you're right, doesn't mean I don't want to miss training." I said after a moment of silence.

"And I'm saying no. End of discussion, now-" Batman started to say.

"Master Bruce," Alfred chimed in to the conversation, "Master Daniel is only a boy. He still needs time for a social life."

"I disagree. Especially not with a Bertinelli. They are just as bad as the Falcones or Black Mask. I need to stop them." Bruce replied to Alfred.

"Master Daniel, just miss training tomorrow, I will convince Master Bruce. I'll even let you borrow a car."

"Alfred-" Batman started to say angrily, but was interrupted by Alfred.

"Goodbye Master Daniel, I hope you have a good time tomorrow." Alfred said as he hung up the phone for both him and Bruce.

I couldn't sleep that night, so I decided to try on my costume. Bruce had told me not to, but I had nothing else to do.

It was exactly how it had looked in my vision. I had the white trench coat with a hood. Somewhat baggy white pants, gray and white knee-high boots, and a gray scarf that covered my mouth and nose. Alfred had also added two skinny white capes running down the sides of my back, which looked totally awesome. There was also one more thing added. A black insignia was burned into the leather of the trench coat. It was wings surrounded by a circle. I made a mental not to ask Alfred it's meaning later. I took the costume off, packed it back into the bundle and put it underneath everything in my bag.

As I finished doing so, I heard my phone vibrate. There was a text from Megan. I unlocked my phone to read it.

"U awake?" It said.

"Yeah. What's up?" I texted back.

"I'm scared. Uncle John is gone. Can u come over?" I read on my phone a few seconds later.

I thought about what I was going to send next. Was Megan asking me to come to her apartment when she was alone? After thinking for about a minute, I replied, saying:

"Sure. I'll be over in a minute."

Now was the real test of the Ninjutsu that had been taught to me by Bruce. Almost every floor board in our whole apartment creaked if you stepped on it too hard, so I had to be quiet.

I decided I really had picked up on that stuff, because I managed to sneak out of our apartment without making a single noise. As I got out into the hall, Megan opened her door and ushered me in, locking it behind her.

"Thanks for coming, Danny." She said, relieved.

"Yeah, no problem. Where's your uncle at?" I asked her.

"He's doing a stake out. He said he won't be here until noon tomorrow." She said, moving closer to me.

"So what were you scared of?" I asked her.

"Well... You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"No, Danny, I know one hundred percent that you wouldn't understand." She said, yawning straight afterward. I laughed, then grabbed her hand.

"C'mon. Let's get you to bed. You've got a big day tomorrow, cheerleader."

"Will you carry me?" She asked, putting on puppy dog eyes. I rolled my own, then nodded my head. She smiled, and put her arm around the back of my neck. I put my hand below her shoulder blades and my other on her upper thigh and picked her up with ease. I had gotten significantly stronger in these two weeks, thanks to Batman. She snuggled close to me in my chest as I carried her into her room.

"Thanks Danny. You really are too nice to me." She said as I put her down on her bed. Her room was quite... Pink. She had pink wallpaper, and furniture.

"No problem, Meg. I'll just be on the couch if you-" I started to say as I got off her bed, being interrupted by Megan grabbing my arm.

"Danny, will you stay here, with me? Just for tonight?" She asked me, looking into my gray eyes with her beautiful brown ones.

"Yes... I will." I said as I got onto the bed again. She snuggled up right next to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Thanks Danny... You're... The best." She said yawning. Within seconds, she was asleep. I kissed her forehead and did the same.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I woke up in an empty bed. I didn't know where I was for a second, but then I remembered last night.

I sat up in Megan's bed, and got a good look around her room in the daylight. The first thing I noticed is that it was really clean. I mean super clean, like, she cleaned it everyday. There wasn't even any dust anywhere. Then, I felt my detective training take over as I searched through drawers. I really shouldn't have, but I did anyways.

All of her clothes were nearly folded and unwrinkled in the drawers of her dresser. Even her socks and underwear. Drawers that didn't have clothes, like in a white table with a mirror on top, had various items, such as notebooks and pencils. But they were all organized. It was like being in a room that someone built just for show, not for someone to actually live in. After my invasion of privacy, I decided to make the bed, currently the only messy thing in the room.

I went out into the living room and saw a note.

"Thanks for staying with me. Had to go to cheer practice, didn't want to wake you! -Megan" The note read. I felt like a bad person. Here I was, sleeping next to Megan while I had a date with Helena today. One of these girls was going to end up with their heart broken, but I didn't want it to be any of them. I pushed this thought from my mind, and I took a shower and got ready for the day.

As I headed out the door of Megan's apartment, I remembered I needed to take my pills.  
I went into my apartment, went to the cupboard where my pills were, then took two.

"So, how was your 'run?'" Kameron surprised me.

"Jeez! I thought you were supposed to be at practice." I yelled back at him.

"Nope. I have a big game today. How was your 'run?'"

"Oh you know... It was alright." I said, trying to convince him.

"Oh really? And you run in your school uniform.?"

"You know how it is..." I said awkwardly back. He stood up and ran over to me, smelling my hair.

"You idiot!" He yelled at me, pushing me a little.

"What?" I yelled back.

"You slept with Megan! You probably ruined her life!"

"I did not sleep with Megan!"

"Oh really? How come your hair smells like her shampoo?"

"I dunno..." I murmured as I looked at the ground. While it is true that I didn't have sex with Megan, I don't think Kam would believe that I just slept NEXT to her.

"Well? I'm waiting!" He yelled at me.

"Look Kam, I'm telling you the truth now. I DID sleep over at Megan's place, and I DID sleep in her bed with her, but we didn't do anything! We didn't even kiss!" I tried to explain to him. He looked at me for a moment, looking into my eyes. I felt as though he were looking in my soul.

"Ok... I believe you." He said at last, "But you better not have sex with her, or I'll kill you."

"I promise."

"Good. I don't want you ruining a girl's life like that. Now come on, lady killer, let's head to school." He said as he headed out the door.

We didn't talk until we were on the bus.

"So, you coming to the game tonight?" He asked me.

"Yeah, man! What time is it?" I said, giving him a high five.

"Six o'clock!" He said, pumping his fist in the air. I frowned at this.

"Dude... I can't come." I said to him.

"Why not?" He asked me loudly.

"I have plans..."

"What plans? Don't tell me Wayne is making you work? Is he that uncool!?"

"No... I have a date... With Helena..."

"Are you friggin' kidding me?" Kam yelled at me.

"No..." I murmured.

"Ugh... You are a piece, you know that? Making plans with that Bit-"

"Don't call her that!" I yelled at him.

"And just why not?"

"Because you have no idea who she is!"

"I know very well who she is! She's a spoiled rich brat, who has no respect for the law and thinks she can get anything she wants with either money, power, or her looks. Including you!"

"That's not who she is Kam! She's kind, and she listens, unlike you!" I yelled at him. I went to the front of the bus and got off at the next stop. I decided I would walk the rest of the way.

"You ok kid?" A voice said from behind me.

"Just dandy! Thanks for asking!" I said back in a sarcastic manner.

"That's no way to talk to your boss, Danny." Wayne's voice said from behind me. I turned around.

"Look, Bruce, my social and home life is none of your business. So just stay out of it."

"You're wrong Daniel. It is my business. It affects your training, as well as your anger level. What happens if we go out on a night you've been fighting with your family? You get frustrated and angry, so you take it out on some junkie and end up killing him. Then I have a death on my hands. You'll be fired too." He said seriously, changing from Bruce to Batman (personality wise) in an instant.

"Whatever..." I said as I started to walk away. I expected Bruce to grab me on the shoulder and turn me around, but he didn't. I turned around to see why he hadn't, but he wasn't there.

"You can't just leave me that easily." Bruce said from behind me.

"How did you...?"

"You weren't watching me. It's too easy."

"Oh... I thought you were gonna say because you were batman."

"No... That's stupid. And a stupid decision. Just, think about what I said. I'll talk to you later." He said as he started to leave. "Oh! And Alfred dropped off a car in a parking garage next to your building. Here are the keys. The license plate number is WAYN 124B."

Then, he was gone. And I was alone. I walked the rest of the way to school, but couldn't pay attention all day. It seems dumb, but what Wayne said about killing someone really got to me.

After school, I rode the bus home alone. Kam and Megan had to go to the game. I felt bad. I wanted to apologize to Kameron, but he had left. What if I never got to apologize to him? What if he died in a bus crash?  
I tried to erase this thought as I went into our apartment. Bruce and Dick were waiting inside.

"What are you people doing here?"  
I yelled in surprise.

"Well, Bruce is brooding, and I am trying to watch tv, but you guys don't have cable..." Dick replied as he was messing with the tv.

"Gee, thanks Dick. I meant, why are you here?"

"Because, you still need to train today," Bruce butted in, "even if it is cut short."

"We can't just train in my apartment! People will hear." I said.

"Well, looks like you need to be quiet then." Bruce said, as he readied his fighting stance.

It was incredible. Every move he made was completely silent and incredibly fast.

Me, I was MOSTLY silent... If I moved slow enough. If I had been any faster, I would've been loud. I didn't know why we had to be silent while fighting though. I knew why we had to be silent the majority of the time. It helped to sneak up on villains, but I silent when fighting? That just didn't make sense to me.

"Ok... I think we've spent enough time training... You are getting better. Your form is still wrong though." He said as we stopped. Did he just compliment me?

"Well, maybe I need a weapon or something? I said, trying to make conversation.

"Like what?" He asked me, "A staff, maybe?"

"No... I don't know. I was thinking something like a bat."

"You mean a baseball bat?" He said to me, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because bat, you know? BATman? I figure one of us ought to have a bat."

"That has the be the dumbest idea. C'mon Dick. Have fun on your date tonight Daniel." He said as they left.

I took a shower, got dressed, grabbed some cash, and called up Helena.

"Hey!" She said, answering the phone.

"Hey, I'm just about to leave, what's your address?"

She told me her address.

"Great! I'll be there in a few minutes." I said.

"See ya then! Super Excited!" She said, hanging up.

I ran over to the parking garage, and looked for the car with the license plate of WAYN 124B. I had no idea what kind of car I was looking for, because the key didn't have any insignias or anything on it. When I found it, I was surprised.

It was like no car I had ever seen before. No, it wasn't the Batmobile. It was actually like no car I had ever seen. It was white and a sports car, yes, but it had no brand. It had no model type. It looked as though Bruce had built it himself. For anyone else, that would mean it looked like crap, but for Batman, it meant that it looked better than any brand name car ever.

I unlocked it, then got in. There was a note on the steering wheel. It was from Alfred.

"Master Daniel," the note read, "Please, do have fun tonight, but be careful with Ms. Bertinelli. Master Bruce does not trust her or her father, and nor do I.  
Nonetheless, do have fun, and make good choices. As you may have guessed already, Master Bruce built this car. He started on it when he met you, and just finished with it yesterday. It is yours. Despite this, be a safe driver, and don't crash it.  
-Your friend, Alfred"

After reading it, I put the note into the glove box, and started to drive away


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Not gonna lie, I felt like the King of the World while I was driving that car. I didn't plan on driving fast, it just happened that way. There's something about driving a car that can go that fast that makes you just want to do it, and like a drug, you can't stop.

I nearly missed Helena's road, but managed to slow down before I had gotten there. I pulled up to her house, then rang the doorbell. A man answered. He was about 6 foot 6 and he was made of muscle.

"You Danny Wilson?" He asked in a very deep voice. I swallowed nervously. Was this Franco Bertinelli? No wonder people were so scared of him!

"Um... Yes, sir." I stammered out nervously.

"Boss wants to talk to you. Go down the hall and take your first right." He said, stepping aside so I could get past. I couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief in finding out that he wasn't her father, but rather just one of his enforcers. I was relieved... Until I realized that I might have to fight a guy like that some day.

I took my first right, and saw a man sitting on a chair facing the fireplace, talking on his cell phone. He looked as though he was in his mid-thirties. He was balding slightly, and even going a little gray. He was also a little bit pudgy. He didn't see or hear me as I entered the room.

"No, you listen to me. I don't care if Batman shows up, I don't care if friggin' Superman shows up! You guard that shipment with your life!" He said in a surprisingly normal voice. I had expected him to talk with an Italian accent or a mobster accent, but he talked just like any other American.

I decided to stop listening to his conversation and cleared my throat to get his attention. He turned toward me.

"Look Stuart, I gotta go, my daughter's boyfriend is here... No, I'm not planning on killing him! That's only if gets my daughter pregnant... Alright man, talk to you later." He said on the phone. He hung it up, and stood up to greet me.

"Daniel Wilson. Boy, did I expect you to look different. Stronger maybe. Or maybe a little taller. Franco Bertinelli." He greeted me, holding a hand out. I shook it. "You got a nice grip. Firm. Psychologically, that means you're gonna be more truthful with me, or somethin'. Have a seat. I want talk to you. Helena'll be down in a second." I took a seat.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself." He ordered me.

"Well sir, there's not much to tell. I live over near the Glades, with my mother and twin-brother, Kameron. My dad left when we were babies-"

"Wait, Kameron? As in, Kameron Wilson? Number 23?" He interrupted.

"The same." I said with a smile.

"Well why didn't you start with that! Your brother has to be one of the best high school running backs I've ever seen! If he doesn't go pro, I'll move to Starling city and change my name to Ringo!" He said. We both laughed, then he started to talk again. "So, where are you taking my daughter tonight, and what are you doing?"

"Well sir, I was planning on going to that new restaurant opening down by the Harbor. Then, if there's time, of course, we might go on a walk in the park." I replied to him.

"Good, good. Well Danny-boy, I was gonna threaten you, but now I'm just gonna tell you some rules. Rule number 1: Always respect my daughter. If you talk crap about her then... Well, I'm assuming you know what I do for a living. I can make you disappear." He said, as I gulped, "Rule Number 2: Don't hurt my daughter. If you hurt her, I hurt you, capeesh?" I nodded to let him know I understood. "Finally, we come to Rule number 3: You get my daughter pregnant, well, then I kill you and everyone related to you. I'd prefer if you didn't even make out with her, but I remember what it was like to be a teenager, so that's not gonna be a rule."

I was relieved as I heard Helena coming down the stairs.

"Daddy, is Danny here yet?" She asked as she came down the hall.

"He's right here, sweetie. Just laying down some ground rules for him." He said, turning to me.

"Have her home by 10:30, no later." He said, standing up and holding out his hand again.

"I promise, Mr. Bertinelli." I said, standing up as well and shaking his hand again. I went out to meet Helena in the hall.

"Hey!" She said, hugging me.

"Hey. You look stunning!" I said, hugging her back. She was wearing a slim, dark purple dress that ended just above her knees, and was cut just below her collar bones and high heels to match. She had hair tied up in an exquisite looking bun, which showed off her neck and earrings, both if which were solid gold. The necklace had a charm on it that said the letters "HB."

"Thanks! You're not so bad yourself!" She said, winking. She then grabbed my hand and led me out of the house.

"Sorry about my dad. He's really a nice guy... Somewhat, but he's just really protective of me." She apologized.

"It's fine. You have no idea what Bruce is like. Trust me, I can take it." I said, laughing.

"Oh my goodness! Is this what you drove?" she yelled, pointing at my car.

"Sure is!"

"My dad is TOTALLY gonna like you if you steal cars this nice!"

"It's not stolen."

"Danny, you can't afford a car like this."

"It's Bruce's."

"He let you borrow it?"

"That's still unclear. I think he may have given it to me."

"Oh my goodness! Let's go! I wanna see how fast this baby'll go!" She said as she hopped in. I got in as well and started the car up. You should've seen it. I was at 60 mph when we got to the end of her road. I had to slow down, of course so I could turn, but it was still amazing.

What would've taken us fifteen minutes to drive to the restaurant took us only three. We got out, got in the restaurant, took our seats and had ordered all within ten minutes. This place's service wasn't too bad.

"So, I hate to ask," Helena started up a conversation, "but exactly how much money did Bruce Wayne pay you?" I smiled.

"Two THOUSAND bucks." I said happily.

"Wow, you seem to be making a lot. What exactly are you doing for him?"

"I just help around the house. There's only one other staff member who actually works at Wayne Manor besides me, and it's a pretty big place."

"Oh, that's cool. So what's he like?"

"Who?"

"Bruce Wayne. I've seen him, but never actually spoken with him. What's he like?"

"Well," I said as I thought of a truthful explanation that wouldn't reveal the Secret, "He's not how you'd think he is. He is definitely not how the news and tabloids portray him. He's actually quite serious, and he works real hard."

"Wow. You never actually know a person until you've met them, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so."

After that, we mostly just made small talk, flirted, and ate. It was nine o'clock by the time we were done, so we drove down to the beach. We didn't intend to swim, the waters were much too cold for that, but we just wanted to talk.

"Danny, can I tell you something I've never told anyone?" She asked me after we had started walking.

"Sure!" I said smiling.

"I hate my dad. Like, if the police found major evidence against him, arrested him, and took him to prison, I wouldn't be sad." I looked at her in shock, "He's just a criminal. I guess that's why my mom left us."

"Wow... That's pretty deep. I figured, you know, by the way you act that you like that you're dad's a criminal."

"That's just a face we put on to the public. You have one too, believe it or not." She said as she took my hand in hers.

"Oh really?" I asked her, "What is my 'face' that I have on in public?"

"Your face... Your face is a happy one." She started to say, "You pretend to be completely happy with life in public, when you aren't really."

I frowned at this comment.

"But that's ok." Helena said, turning to me and looking in my eyes. "I know the real you, and I like it."

The next moments came as kind of a blur. I don't remember whether I said anything or not. All I remember was the kiss. She placed her hand on my face, stood on her tip toes, locking her lips with mine. It lasted for 4 seconds before she broke away, smiling. I'm pretty sure I was smiling too. Everything seemed perfect... Until my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I ignored it, until it started vibrating again. I checked it. It was Bruce. Just great...

"Hey, Helena, can you give me a second? I gotta take this." I asked her.

"Sure, but hurry back!" She said, winking.

I moved about 6 feet away, and answered it.

"What do you want, Bruce?" I said in a hushed, bitter tone.

"This is Barbara actually." Barbara's voice said on the other line. "Danny, we need you!"

"Babs, this is my night off." I said to her.

"I know, but we really need you. There's like, 50 guys here, and Dick's been shot!"

"I really can't..." I said, worriedly.

"Please Danny! It's not far from your location. Tell Helena it's a family emergency or something, and that you are loaning her your car."

"Babs, I really-" I started to say, before being cut off by a gun shot.

"Hit... Phone... Please... Need you." I heard Barbara say before the other line went dead. I went over to Helena.

"Hey, this isn't easy for me to tell you... I need to go." I said to her.

"What? Why?" She said in shock.

"Family emergency. I promise, we'll do this again, but I really need to go."

"We better do this again!" She yelled at me. She grabbed my shirt and pulled me into another kiss before heading toward the car. I followed her, and threw her the keys.

"You need to drive yourself home. Just, give me the car back tomorrow or Monday. I need to grab something from the trunk." I said, heading toward the trunk. I opened it and grabbed the cloth bundle that held my outfit. Helena had hopped in and started the engines.

"See ya Danny!" She said, trying to sound happy as she drove away.

When I was clear of any people, I got my costume on. I was now The Dayhound.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I checked my communicator for a location. Alfred must have gotten the memo about me joining up with them, because there was a dot on a satellite map of Gotham. It was the harbor, right where Bertinelli's men were. I hoped Helena steered clear, because I wouldn't be able to fight back if she attacked me.

I started to run towards the location, which wasn't far. I thought about climbing a building and free running my way over to the harbor, but it would've taken too long, and we'd only started free running training two days ago.

I know what you're probably thinking. I was totally not ready for this. I'd only been training for two weeks, and I couldn't do it. With any normal teacher, you'd be right, I would be unprepared. But this is Batman who trained me. His training is harder and more effective than anyone else's. I may not have been completely ready, but I was ready enough.

It took me a while to get used to my outfit. It was heavier than normal clothes, probably because there was a Kevlar nano-fiber woven in with the fabric. It would block most knife slashes, and some bullets. For the rest, I would have to rely on my reflexes.

As I neared the harbor, I fell to my hands and knees. I nearly threw up. I started hyperventilating. I was having a panic attack.

Maybe it was the realization that I could've died that night, or maybe it was just chance, but either way, I was freaking out. Then, out of no where, I heard a voice. It was the same voice I had heard in my dream.

"Don't be frightened, young one. You will server a purpose later." She said. Instantly, I was calmed. I ran forth, not fearing death any more.

When I got to the harbor, it was quiet, despite what I had heard on the phone. I decided to do some climbing, even though I wasn't good at it. I climbed up on top of some of the shipping crates that were in the harbor to get a better view. I couldn't see anyone. I didn't know whether that was good or bad. Then, I saw a guy. He was about eight feet away from the crate I was on.

My plan was to hop down silently behind him, and choke him out like Batman had taught me. As you can guess, it didn't go that way. It was so far so good, right up until the point when I tripped over a lip on the crate. It was only about a ten foot drop and I landed in a pile of ropes, but it was loud. I don't wanna say I screamed as I came down, but that's kinda what happened.

"What was that?" I heard my original target say to another unseen man as they drew their pistols.

"I dunno man. Do you think it was Batman?" His buddy said as they inched forward. You may be asking yourself what I was doing at this time. I was tangled up in a bunch of ropes. I was also scared out of my mind which is why I wasn't out of the ropes yet.

"Batman doesn't scream like a little girl..." Said the first one.

"Does Batman even scream?" The second asked.

"I dunno. Maybe when we kill him we can make him. That'd be-" The first started to say as I burst out of the ropes.

"Ah! It's another one of them costumed freaks!" The second yelled, aiming his gun at me. Unfortunately for him, he was just close enough to get a flying kick in the face.

This knocked him down, but not out. His gun went skidding across the pavement, and he slammed into a concrete wall behind him.

The one left standing took a shot at me but missed. I swung a rope that I had picked up at him, slapping his head with a knot at the end of it. His hand dropped the pistol as he covered that side of his head. I punched him hard in the face, then sent a knee into his gut. He collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. I then turned my attentions to the one that I had kicked, who was getting up now. I leapt towards him, grabbing his head as I passed him and yanking him to the ground, slamming his head against the concrete. He was out now, and I dove on the other one. I gave his head a nice slam against the concrete too, knocking this one out cold too.

I climbed up onto a stack of boxes as another one came to see who was shooting. I dropped down on his head, stomping it to the ground with my foot. He groaned, and I dropped down on the back of his head with my knee.

As I stood up, I felt something hit me in the shoulder. I stammered back as I turned to look at the source of the pain. There was another one of Bertinelli's men holding a baseball bat. He swung at me again, but I was ready this time. I ducked the swing and punched him once in the diaphragm, and as he curled up in pain, I grabbed his head and hit it with my knee. He dropped back, nearly falling over. He swung the bat weakly at my head, but it was weak enough that I could grab it. I tore it from his hand, and gave him a front kick to the nose. He was knocked out.

As I held the bat in my hand, I heard a machine gun fire a few crates over. I ran to the noise. I saw a bunch of guys who were knocked out, and one who was firing a machine gun up into the support beams of a crane. He didn't even notice me sneaking up behind him. I struck the back of his head with the bat. He did a front flip and landed hard on his back. I pressed the tip of my new weapon to his throat, choking him until he was unconscious. Batman flew down from the crane that the man was shooting at.

"I TOLD you one of us needed a bat!" I yelled at Batman, gloating.

"You could've taken him out without it." Batman replied.

"Yeah, but I looked totally awesome!" I said as I pumped a fist in the air.

"Fine. You can keep the bat."

"So where's Batgirl and Robin?" I asked Batman.

"Batgirl took Robin back to the cave. I'm assuming you knew the situation?"

"Yeah. How is he?"

"Fine. Shot in the leg. He'll be out of commission for a week."

"Does that mean you need me in the field for a week?" I asked him.

"No." He said as he walked towards a building. "This was just because I needed you now."

"So what happens now?"

"You head home. I can handle the rest." He said as he pulled out his grapple gun. This really made me angry. I ended my date early just so I could come here to beat up a few criminals? This was not going to end like that. I lunged forward and snatched Batman's grapple gun before he could use it.

"Give that back." He said in an intimidating voice.

"No. I didn't end my date just so I could put the hurt on a few guys then go home." I said quite angrily, "I wanna help. At least for tonight."

"No. Go home. That's an order." He said to me, holding out his hand, expecting me to just give his grapple gun back.

"Seriously Batman, I am really pissed of-" I started to say before being taken down by Batman. He had swept my legs, and was now a dark shadow standing over me.

"You're going home." He said to me as he took his grapple gun and grappled away.

I got up and start walking along the beach, toward where I had left my clothes. I had found a piece of rope and tied the bat to my costume. I was depressed and tired. I was fairly certain that the encounter with those criminals had taken a few years off my life, but I didn't care. It was some of the best moments I'd had up until that point.

I got to the pier where I had changed into my costume. My street clothes were still there thankfully, so I changed into them. On a whim, I decided to just glance over to where Helena had kissed me. I'm glad I had. I saw my car parked there, with Helena in the driver's seat. I jogged over to my car.

"Hey there, Sweet Lips!" I said as I drew near. She looked at me and smiled a little.

"Hey Danny." She said in a sad voice.

"Why the long face?" I asked her.

"It's my dad. We got in a fight when I got home, so I left. I thought that maybe if I came out here, you'd come again. Looks like I was right."

I opened the passenger door, and got in, placing my bundle of costume under the seat without Helena noticing.

"If you don't mind me prying, what were you guys fighting about?" I asked her once I was sitting down.

"Mom. But really, I'll be ok."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. If I ever need to talk about it, you'll be the first I come to."

"Ok. Good." I said to her.

"So what were you up to, Dan-"

"Ah!" I yelled as she grabbed my shoulder that the guy had hit with the bat.

"What the...?" She said, as she yanked my sleeve up, "Danny! What happened? It looks like someone hit you with a bat!"

"Oh.. I uh..." I said, thinking up a lie, "It's a funny story actually. I was running through the baseball field. The one by the harbor, and some drunk guys were playing baseball there. One of them accidentally smacked me with a bat."

"Oh my goodness... Only you." She said with a smile, "Wait? You said by the harbor?"

"Yeah...?"

"Danny, you shouldn't be over there. My dad's men are over there, with orders to protect his shipments with their lives. They could've killed you!"

"Helena, I-"

"You don't get it! It doesn't matter if you're a kid. If they saw you as a threat, they would've shot you!"

"Helen-"

"I would've never seen you again! You'd have ended up in the bottom of the bay! I just couldn't-"

This time, it was my turn to interrupt her. I kissed her softly, cutting her off mid sentence.

After I broke away, she was silent for a moment. Then, unexpectedly, she broke out in tears. I brought her head to my chest, and stroked her cheek softly as she cried.

"You're always so nice to me, Danny." She said after a little bit, "You never lie to me either."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I had lied to her twice tonight. I felt guilty, but knew I couldn't say anything about what happened. Was this how Bruce always felt when he lied to whatever girl he was with at the time? Or did he not care?

After a while, I decided that I should probably take Helena home. We switched spots, and I drove her to her house.

"Could you drive around back? There's some ivy I can climb up to my room with." Helena said.

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked her, giving a suspicious look.

"I suppose so. It's not the first time I've used it before though." She said. I shrugged and started to drive around back.

"And besides if I fall," Helena flirted, "I have you there to catch me."

This made me smile as she got out. She climbed about five feet up, before she started calling for me. I hopped out of the car, and she fell. I caught her.

"You did that on purpose!" I accused Helena.

"Maybe..." She winked at me, "You're really strong, Danny."

"Maybe I'm just Kam, acting as Danny." I said with a smile.

"Nah. Danny has gray eyes. You have gray eyes."

I put her down, hugged her, and we parted ways.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

By the time I got home, it was 12:30. I was SOO dead. My curfew was 11:30, so I'd missed it by an hour.

I decided to try and sneak in, hoping my mom would be asleep. Unfortunately for me, none of the other members of my house hold were. As I opened the door, they both stared at me.

"Danny, welcome home!" My mother said, in a cheery tone. "How was the date?"

"It was fine..." I said suspiciously as I cocked an eyebrow. Kam was covering his mouth, which meant he was smiling, but he didn't want me to know. Something was up.

"Oh really? What'd you guys do?" My mother asked.

"Just had dinner and went walking on the beach." I said in the same tone as before.

"That's nice." She said as she stood up. She walked over to the counter and sat on it. "So... Why were you late?"

"Bru- Mr. Wayne had me working late. After my date, of course." I said. Kam's hands fell from his face, revealing a frown. Clearly things weren't going as they had planned.

"So, if I call him, he can confirm this story?" My mother asked, grabbing her phone. Bruce had given my mother his home phone number, because I was working for him.

"Yes." I stated as I nodded. She scowled at me and called Bruce up, putting it on speaker phone.

"Wayne residence." Alfred's voice said on the phone. "Please state your name and business."

"Yes, this is Daniel Wilson's mother, may I please talk to Mr. Wayne?" My mother said in her cheery voice again.

"Please wait one moment." Alfred said.

Then it hit me. Bruce wasn't home, he was off being Batman somewhere. This wasn't such a good plan.

"Hello?" Bruce's voice said on the phone, much to my surprise.

"Yes, this is Ms. Samuels, I would like to know if Danny was working late tonight." My mother replied to him.

"Yeah, he was." Wayne said, "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's it." She said, hanging up the phone. She told us to go to bed now, and did the same.

As I followed Kam to our room, I got a text from Dick.

"Dude, you owe me one." The text read.

"Why?" I texted back.

"Because I can sound exactly like Bruce :P" Dick replied.

"Kam, why were smiling when mom was gonna yell at me?" I said once we were in bed.

"Because, mom was gonna tell you that you couldn't see Helena again." He said, drowsily.

I was angry at this comment, and so I closed my eyes. I was nearly asleep, when Kam spoke.

"Dan, you awake?" His voiced asked me.

"Yeah..." I said, nearly asleep.

"Danny, is it ok if I go out with Megan?" He asked me again.

"Why are you asking me?" I said back.

"Because, you had dibs." He said, "plus, she seemed really into you. But you really seem to like Helena, so I figured I could date Megan."

"Just do whatever you want..." I said to Kameron, wanting to go to sleep. I was sore, exhausted and not in a good mood.

"You sure?"

"Yeah..." I said, as I fell asleep.

I woke up in space. It was a dream obviously, but I was in space. Megan was sitting across from me.

"Hey Danny!" She said to me.

"Meg? What's going on?" I said back, confused.

"We're dreaming. Well... You are. I'm actually awake." She replied.

"What?" I asked her, still very confused.

"Never mind. I needed to talk to you, but I couldn't do it outside of your mind, so I just... Went in."

"What?"

"This'll make sense in a minute. Look, Danny. I know Bruce Wayne is Batman, and I know Dick is Robin, and I know that Barbara Gordon is Batgirl. I also know that you are being trained by Bruce to be a vigilante as well."

"This is one of the weirdest dreams I've ever had."

"Danny, it's not a dream. Well, it is for you, but not for me. I am communicating with you telepathically, because I am a Martian."

"Like, Martian Manhunter?" I asked her.

"Yes. That's actually who my uncle John is." She said.

"Man, forget a weird dream! This dream is awesome!"

Megan suddenly changed. Her skin was now green, her hair was red, and her eyes red as well.

"Danny, this is the truth. When you wake up, I can prove it."

Then, she disappeared, and I was alone. I'm sure I could've woken up anytime I wanted, but I didn't. I don't know why, but the silence of space was so peaceful.

I woke up. It was dark outside, and Kam was still asleep. I decided to go get a drink. I looked in the fridge, but there was nothing. Then, I remembered the vending machine downstairs. I grabbed a buck out of my room, went out of our home, and went down the stairs.

I went up to the vending machine. I put in my dollar and was going to get myself a Soder Cola, when I heard a noise from outside. I went out to investigate.

The noise came from an alley nearby. I also heard voices. I should've gone back inside to grab my gear, but I didn't. Instead, I put the hood of my hoodie. I hoped this would give me enough of a disguise that I wouldn't be recognizable.

"C'mon man! I promise I'ma have the money next time!" A vaguely familiar voice said.

"No. Got no money, no fix." Another voice said.

I had heard enough. This was a drug deal for sure. It was time for me to jump in. I pounced on the one closest to me, landing like a monkey on his back. I grabbed his head and slammed it against the alley wall.

"Please guy! Don't hurt me!" The other said, as his hood fell down. It was Roger. Roger was a junkie?

"Roger?" I said, lowering my fists.

"Danny? Man, this isn't what it looks like!"

"It looks like a drug deal." I said bitterly.

"Ok... Maybe it is. But I don't have any drugs on me." He said, raising his hands. I was angry. Maybe because my close friend was doing drugs, or maybe because I had adrenaline flowing through my veins, I don't know. But I was mad. I grabbed Roger's jacket and lifted him up against the wall.

"You better not be lying to me, Rog." I threatened.

"I'm not, Dan! You can even search me!" He said, scared. I dropped him to the ground, and searched his pockets.

"Holy crap man, you're buff!" He exclaimed, regaining his breath.

"No more drugs. Got it?" I angrily said to him.

"Promise. Just don't beat me up." He said, rising to his feet once again.

"You high right now?" I asked him, "Can you get home safely?"

"Yeah bro... See ya." He said, walking away.

I walked back into my building towards the vending machine. My dollar was no longer there. It had been taken. I slammed my fist against the vending machine.

"Relax Danny, I didn't know it meant so much to you!" Megan's voice said from behind me. I spun around to see her sitting on the front desk. She was wearing a dark gray V-neck tee-shirt, and pink sweats. She was also drinking a Soder cola that I paid for.

"Hey Meg. Sorry, had a stressful night so far." I said apologetically.

"It's ok Danny. Come sit by me." She said, patting the spot on the counter next to her. I did as she commanded.

"You know, I had a dream about you..." I said, starting a conversation.

"I know. I was controlling it, remember?" She replied, giggling. I looked at her in shock.

"You mean... You're really a Martian?!" I asked in shock and awe. She giggled.

"Yes Danny. That's ok, right?"

"Yeah... I mean, it's gonna take some getting used to, but otherwise it'll be fine."

"Good." She said, smiling at the ground. She took one last drink of Soder Cola and threw the bottle in the trash. "Thanks for buying me a soda, by the way."

"That was for me, actually. But Rodger-"

"Is a junkie, I know. I've known for a while. I can read minds."

"Right. So you know everything I think about?"

"Well, not anymore. You see, on Mars, we don't talk to each other. We just communicate telepathically. There aren't any secrets. But when I moved to Earth, I had to get used to not reading people's minds. Uncle John says it's 'frowned upon.'" She explained.

"Ok... Read my mind right now." I told her. I was saying in my mind that I wanted to kiss her. I saw when she had read that. She blushed, then I heard her voice in my mind.

"Why don't you then, Dayhound?" Her voice flirted in my head.

I kissed her. She put her hand on my face, and I put my hand on her side. We kissed for a long time. We started making out. Before I knew it, she was laying on top of me as we were making out. But then, we stopped.

"What's bothering you?" She asked me.

"Nothing." I lied.

"Danny, I can read your mind. Somehow, you've set up a mental barrier, blocking what's bothering you, but I know something is." She said accusingly as she got off of me.

"Ok... Meg, I'm sorry. I really like you, I do, but Kam... He does too. And I told him he could date you..."

"So he has dibs. You boys... Danny, I like you. Sure, you're brother is cute, and he's nice to me, but I've been in both of your heads, and I like your mind better."

"What do you mean?" I asked her, very confused.

"Kam's mind... It's dark. He doesn't think about dark things or anything, but there's just... It just feels dark, scary even." She said to me. She was obviously very uncomfortable talking about Kameron's mind.

"Meg, I'm sorry. He's my brother though, and I-"

"You don't want to hurt him, I know..." She said sadly. "When he doesn't like me anymore, will you be there?"

"What do you-"

"Danny, will you be there?"

"Yes. I promise."

"Good." She said seriously. She kissed me softly, then went up the stairs to her apartment.

I sat there, in silence. I felt very depressed. What I did next, may not have been the best idea. I ran up into my room, being careful not to wake anyone up. I got into my costume, opened the window, and leapt out.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I slammed onto the fire escape of the next building over. It hurt a lot more than I thought it would, but I embraced the pain. When I lived in Metropolis, before my attempted suicide, I would cut myself to deal with depression. The mind has a pain "gateway" which focuses itself on the most prominent pain. That's why I had cut. This pain, of me landing on the fire escape, stimulated me. It made me less depressed.

Once I had recovered somewhat, I climbed up the fire escape, onto the roof of the building. It was a store with an apartment complex on top, I believe. When I got up there, I ran across the roof and jumped to the next building. I soared through the air and landed on the roof of the building. I rolled once I hit, and continued my run.

I was looking for crime. Any crime. I didn't care whether it was a drug dealer or a purse snatcher, I was determined to stop some sort of crime from happening. I didn't care what Batman said, I was ready.

I had ran about three blocks on rooftops when I spotted my first crime: a mugging. There were two guys, both in ski masks, kicking another guy who was on the ground.

I dropped down off the rooftop, down one story, before I hit an awning. It bounced me up into the street, and I rolled as soon as I hit the ground so I wouldn't get hurt. I took my bat off my back, and ran towards the guys. I leapt off the wall, slamming into the guy on the left. He fell down, as I swung my bat into the man who was still standing's knee. I heard a pop, and saw it bend an un-natural way as he fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The other guy was standing now, and was ready to attack with knife in hand. He swung the blade at me, but I was too quick. I blocked it with my forearm (which was armored with a steel plate and blade-catching fins) and jabbed him in the gut with the end of my bat. He collapsed. I pulled a zip tie out of a pocket on my belt and tied his hands to a lamp post in the alley. I saw the guy they were beating on getting up, and I left. He was ok, and that's all that mattered.

I ran down the alley until I found a fire escape. I ran part way up the wall until I could grab onto the ladder. I pulled myself up, and started climbing towards the roof.

Once atop the building, I scoured the area. I noticed a bunch of shady looking guys heading into a warehouse a few blocks away. I ran my way across the rooftops until I was on top of the warehouse. It had one of those cast metal roofs, but it wasn't in good condition. There were holes all over it. I found a hole big enough for me to get through and lowered myself down. There was a beam right below me, and I dropped down silently onto it.

I crawled across it until I was above the group of men who had walked in.

"The boss told us to wait here for 'im." One said.

"Man, I ain't gonn' wait for Batman to show up, just so the boss don't get mad." Another said.

"The Bat isn't comin'. Made sure'a that. Locked the door."

I crawled all the way over to the wall, and dropped down on top of the warehouse office.

"What 'bout the windows? Bat can smash glass, y'know."

"Oh right... I didn' think'a that."

I leapt down off of the office right in the middle of the group. I'm sure it looked pretty cool, but it wasn't the smartest combat decision, but I didn't care.

"What the?!" One said, falling backwards. I drew my bat, and swung it at the first one like a professional batter, straight at his shoulder. He fell over clutching his shoulder, crying out in pain. There were about five left standing. I swept one to my right's legs out from under them, and ran out of their circle. Two of them charged me. I managed to hit one in they head with my bat, but the other kicked me square in the chest. I stumbled backwards, stunned.

The one who had kicked me jumped toward me, readying a superman punch. I threw up my bat at the last minute, deflecting his arm away. Unfortunately, I had left myself exposed to his knee. It went into my gut, and I stumbled back more, slamming into the wall at my back.

By now the one I had knocked down with my sweep was standing, as was the one who had charged me with his buddy. The one who's shoulder I had hit was still down. His arm was probably broken.

I nailed my current attacker in the collar bone with a flying elbow, and pulled his head into my knee once he dropped back. He collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.

I leapt towards the three standing and switch kicked the one on the far left. I nailed him in the head with my bat, and then in the side of his torso. He wasn't quite down yet, so I rolled across his back, locking my elbows with his, and launched him into the nearest thug. They both fell to the ground as I turned my attention towards the last one.

He was ready for me. He'd broken a lead pipe off of a nearby wall, and now held it like a spear. He tried to jab me with it, but I hit it to the side with my bat. I tried to knee him in the head, but he had the advantage of range, and dropped back before I even got close. I was completely exposed now, so he swept my legs with his makeshift spear. I fell flat on my back as he tried to jab me in the throat. I grabbed the spear about six inches away from my neck.

He pressed it harder, and I could feel it slowly nearing my esophagus. I tried to push back, but he was putting his weight on it, and I didn't have any leverage. Right when my muscles were about to give way, we heard a voice.

"Enough!" A voice called, as the door was kicked down.

My would-be killer grumbled something, threw his spear aside, and picked me up, jamming my arm behind my back as he faced me towards the voice.

"Well, what do we have here?" A voice said. The owner of the voice was unusually tall, about 6'4, and was wearing a white pinstripe suit with a black tie. That isn't what caught my attention. What really caught it was a black skull mask, covering the man's whole head.

"Black Mask..." I muttered angrily. Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, is one of Gotham's most notorious crime lords. Everyone and their mothers have heard of Black Mask, from Metropolis, all the way to Starling City. He has his hand in every city, and his reputation in the mind of every person. He's known for his cruelty, and love of medieval torture methods.

"So, you know who I am. Good. Now, who are you? One of Batman's new brats?"

"Go to-" I started to yell, before being punched in the face by Black Mask.

"You know, you should be more thankful." Black Mask said, as he rubbed his fist, "I did save your life, you know."

I remained silent.

"C'mon kid, I want you and I to be friends."

I still remained silent. Batman always told me, if an interrogator is still asking questions, you are still alive. Don't answer them.

"Fine. If you're not going to tell me, then I'm going to have to use... Other measures. Let him go." Black Mask said, taking a step back.

"But Boss..." The one holding me protested, "He took out four of our guys."

He was right to protest too. Black Mask had only brought in three guys, two of which seemed like just suits, men who I could easily take out. The third I didn't get a good view of, because he stepped into the shadows. I could only see the shadowy figure, but as far as I could tell, he wasn't any more impressive than the men I had just beat.

"Just do as I say!" Black Mask barked out. I don't know if it was out of fear or obedience, but the guy dropped me. I fell to my hands and knees, and stood up to see Black Mask walking towards the two other men, and motioning towards the third one.

The man in the shadows leapt towards me, landing five feet in front of me. He was wearing impressive looking armor and a mask with one eye hole that was half black and half orange.

"Mystery Kid," Black Mask yelled at me in satisfaction, "Meet Deathstroke. This is your last chance to answer my questions. If you don't, Deathstroke here is gonna kill you. Slowly."

I was silent, telling Black Mask that I wasn't going to answer.

"Go on ahead." Black Mask told Deathstroke.

Deathstroke. That was a name I recognized. People have called him the World's Deadliest Assassin. They say that he was in the military, and that they experimented on him, so he could now use ninety percent of his brain. He was also super strong. Rumor has it that he can pick up a car, but Robin thinks that he's only a little stronger than the normal human. He had probably thought of about fifty ways to kill me already.

He drew his sword off his back, and kicked my bat towards me. I caught it. It seemed like he didn't want to completely slaughter me. He wanted to give me a "chance" though that chance wasn't a lot.

"What's your name?" He asked quietly as he spun his sword around.

"Why?" I replied back, readying myself.

"Because I wanna know who I'm killing." He said in a snarky tone. He must have been smirking underneath that mask.

"Dayhound." I replied to his first question. I was legitimately scared. He nodded at this reply, then charged me.

He leapt into the air, spinning and raising his blade in the air. This was too flashy for a trained assassin to use. Maybe he was trying to make a show out of it.

I threw up my bat with both hands, and blocked his blade as it came down. There was enough force to collapse me to one knee, but otherwise I held strong.

I forced myself backwards so that his blade fell forward, surprising him. I swung my bat as hard as I could at the black side of his mask. I thought I had a few seconds, because I had thrown him off guard. I was mistaken. He had grabbed my bat and used it to swing around me. This forced me to the ground, sprawling. He now had my bat. He put his sword away, then pulled me up by my neck. His one eye was a familiar shade of blue. It stared angrily into my eyes for a second, before he threw me across the room. I slammed through a steel shelf, scattering papers everywhere. I didn't want to get up, I just wanted to die, I was in so much pain.

I started to black out. I could feel my consciousness slipping. I knew I couldn't take much more of this, so I started to let my mind slip away from me.

That is, until I thought of my mother.

I could see her crying. The police had just told her I died. I wouldn't let that happen. I couldn't let that happen. So I forced my eyes open.

I did it just in time too. I saw Deathstroke about to stab me in the heart with his sword. I rolled out of the way quickly, and was back to my feet in less than a second. I threw a hard left hook at a surprised Deathstroke. Much to my amazement, it made contact. It sent him stumbling.

"You have heart kid, I'll give you that." He said to me with satisfaction.

"I have something besides money to fight for." I said, still very exhausted.

He lunged at me, sword arm extended, but I ducked. He flew straight over me, towards the wall. He spun and landed, sliding. He couldn't slow himself down fast enough though, so he hit the wall with enough force to crack it. I saw pain in his eye for just a split-second, but then it was back to anger. He charged me once more. I started to charge him back. It may have been a stupid idea, but I wasn't thinking straight.

We never made contact. When we were eight feet away from each other, the window in the middle of us shattered, and in flew Batman. He took a fighting stance towards a still Deathstroke, and the two pounced towards each other.

"Everybody clear out!" Black Mask yelled, running toward the door. I chanced them out, to find Batgirl standing over their unconscious bodies.

"Jeez D," she said, lowering her stance, " You look like crap."

"Feel like it too." I replied, nearly collapsing. "Batman's in there fighting Deathstroke."

"Not anymore." Batman said from behind me, "He escaped. Nice job catching Black Mask though, Batgirl."

"Thanks Batman!" She exclaimed with a smile, a wink, and a peace sign.

"And as for you, Dayhound," Batman said angrily as I faced him, "I ordered you to go home."

"I know..." I replied remorsefully, "I just wanted to help."

"As mad as I am, I have to admit that you did. You kept Black Mask there until we could arrive." Batman said to me, a little less angry sounding, "You did good. Go home, and rest, it's not every day that a member of my team holds his own with Deathstroke."

I smiled. Batman had just complimented me. He didn't even seem mad about me disobeying him.

"Oh, and Daniel," he said, readying his grapple gun, "Disobey a direct order again, and you're fired."

He grappled away. Batgirl smiled at me, then followed his lead and grappled away. I stood there for a second, then started to walk home, a smile on my face.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I got home at about 5:13. I climbed up the fire escape, and back into my bedroom window. I cleaned myself up, took some pain killers, changed clothes, and went to bed. I had no trouble sleeping this time.

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep long. I got woken up at 8:00 by my mother and some man talking and laughing. I looked over at Kam, who was also woken up by the same reason. We nodded at each other, and went out into the living room, where the voices were coming from. I was in pain, but tried not to act like it. I should've taken more pain meds.

My mother saw us first, because she was sitting in a chair facing our room.

"Ah! Here they are. Boys come here!" She commanded us happily. We walked over to her, both very groggy.

"Boys..." My mother said, motioning to a man with one blue eye, short black hair, a black goatee, "I'd like to introduce you to Slade Wilson. Your father."

The man stood up. He held out a hand.

"Let me guess..." He said with a smile, shaking Kameron's hand. "You're Kameron, right?"

Kam, who was as awestruck as me, just nodded, mouth wide open.

"And you are Daniel, then." He stated, shaking my hand. My whole body burned with pain as he did.

"Oh, isn't it exciting?" My mother said, wrapping her arms around Slade, "You're father has finally come back to us!"

I didn't know what to say at all. I was dumbfounded. We stayed silent for a few seconds, until Kam finally spoke.

"So where have you been?" He said, breaking the silence.

"That's a good question." Slade said, "For the past two years, I've been trying to find you all, but before that I was doing some work for the government."

"Like, spy stuff?" Kam said, smiling. Slade laughed, then put on a serious face.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." He joked, trying to stay serious. Both Kam and he laughed, then Slade, my father, started talking again; "Yes, spy stuff. No, I wasn't James Bond or anything, I just was infiltrating a terrorist circle. It shut down thanks to my team two years ago, and I've been trying to find you, my family, since then."

"So how did you find us?" My mother asked him.

"Well, I heard about an amazing running back on the Gotham Titans, named Kameron Wilson. I knew that was my son's name, so I decided to check you out at the big game last night. You had left before I could confront you, but I knew you were my son the moment I saw you make that first touchdown." Slade explained. Instantly, he had made friends with Kameron. Kam had found his dad, and they both sat down to talk about football.

"So, what do you think of him?" My mother asked me.

"I don't know yet." I said in a monotone voice, "I'm gonna go grab the mail."

"Ok, but hurry back. You and your father need to catch up."

"I will." I said, as I walked out the door. I walked across the hall and knocked on Megan's door. Mr. Jones answered.

"Hello Daniel. Megan is in the shower. She should be out in a second though." John Jones said with a smile.

"It's ok, Mr. Jones, I just need some Tylenol, if you have any." I told him.

"Why, if I may ask?" He asked me.

"Just read my mind." I told him.

He looked at me for a second.

"Very well, how much?"

"Five pills."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I really need some."

He nodded, then left the door for a second. He came back with a handful of pills. He gave them to me. I thanked him, then swallowed them all. Then, I went to grab the mail.

The first flight of stairs was painful as I hobbled down it, but then the medicine kicked in, and I was soon running down the stairs. Once down, I grabbed the mail, then went back up to my apartment. When I got up there, I went through the door.

"Ah! There he is!" Slade said, as mother put breakfast on the table.

I sat down, not knowing what to say.

"So, Danny, what are you interested in?" Slade asked me.

"Oh... Nothing really." I said, starting to eat my breakfast.

"Oh, c'mon, Danny. I'm sure you like something." Slade said, encouragingly. "I may not have ever been around, but I'm here now. I wanna be a good dad to you."

I looked at him. I looked him right in his eye. It looked exactly like Kam's eyes. Then, I realized who else's it looked like. I was looking into the eye of Deathstroke.

My father was Deathstroke. The World's Greatest Assassin. A military experiment gone wrong. The man who had nearly taken my life last night.

And he was looking me in the eyes too. He knew who I was.

"Are you two alright?" Kam finally asked.

"Yes, just fine." Slade said in a nonchalant voice, looking down to his meal. He and I ate the rest of the meal in silence.

Once we had finished, Slade pulled the trash bags out of our trash.

"Danny, why don't you come help me take the trash out?" He asked me. I looked at my mother. She looked at me encouragingly. I nodded my head toward Slade, and picked up a bag.

We went to the dumpster in the alley next to the parking garage. Once we were there, Slade grabbed me by my shirt and slammed me against the wall.

"You're him. The Dayhound." He said angrily.

"And your Deathstroke." I said back, just as angry.

"My own son!" He said as I struggled to get away. He slammed me against the wall again.

"Who is the Batman?" He interrogated me.

"I'd never tell you." I said, trying to pull away. He was stronger than me, so I failed to accomplish this task. "He's been more of a father to me than you ever have."

He dropped me, then started to walk away.

"So that's it?!" I yelled to him.

"I can't kill you." He said with loathing, "Not while we're like this anyways."

"What's stopping me from telling mom your secret?"

"Your secret." He said, as he started to walk away again. "Where should I tell your mother you are?"

"Megan's place."

He nodded, then walked away.

I waited about a minute, then went back inside. I went up the stairs, and knocked on Megan's door. Megan answered.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" She said, cheerfully.

"Nothing. Do you mind if I come in?" I said back sadly.

She looked at me for a second, then told me to come in.

"Did you read my mind?" I asked her as I entered.

"No. I'm not supposed to read minds, remember?" She said, sitting down.

"Right." I replied as I sat next to her.

"Ok. Tell me what's wrong." She demanded, as she turned to face me.

I told her the whole story, starting from when I left, and ending at when I found out about Slade, leaving out the part where I left last night because I got depressed.

"Wow... Danny, does Slade know you work for Wayne?"

"No. Crap!" I exclaimed. "If mom tells him, then he can figure out who Batman is!"

"Let me read his mind to see if he knows." Megan said as she started to concentrate. "I'm going to put you in on the psychic link as well. Clear your mind."

When my mind was clear, I closed my eyes. There was silence for a second, then I heard Slade's voice in my head.

"Whoever you are, get out of my head, now!" He screamed in my head. Then, there was nothing.

"Can't read his mind." Megan said aloud, "He's blocking the link. Maybe we can read your mom's."

"Good idea..." I said, as she started to concentrate. I decided not to join in on this. It was my mom, after all.

"Well, good news," Megan said a minute later, "she hadn't told him."

"Good..." I said quietly.

"AND, I planted a mental suggestion in her mind so she wouldn't tell him. Don't worry, she'll just think it's her conscience or something. Kam's mind too."

"Good..." I repeated again, just as quietly.

"Danny, are you ok?" She asked as she lifted my head so I would look her in the eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful. They felt so warm. I wanted to kiss her, but I couldn't. I couldn't hurt Kam like that.

"I'm fine." I said as I stood up.

"You sure?"

"Yes. I'm going for a walk. I need to clear my head."

"Ok..." She said, sounding somewhat disappointed. Had she read my mind again? Did she know I wanted to kiss her?

I hugged her, and waved goodbye. I left the building and started walking toward Wayne Manor.

About halfway there, I realized that Bruce wouldn't be home. He was busy running a multibillion dollar company. As depressed as I felt, I didn't want to go back home. There is no way I could be in that house and know that Slade Wilson, my father, was also a world-renowned assassin. One who had almost killed me last night. I was busy thinking about this, when Barbara's voice broke my thoughts.

"Danny? What are you doing here?" She said, her voice full of surprise.

"Oh, you know. Just walking." I replied in a monotone voice.

"Dude, you are like, six miles away from your house. There is no way you are 'just walking.' Are you ok?"

I looked her in the eyes, and she knew the answer.

"C'mon. I was gonna meet some friends at the mall, but this seems important." She said, guiding me down two houses and into hers.

Once we were inside, she grabbed me a glass of water, which I was very grateful for, and sat down on the counter.

"What's wrong, Danny?" She asked me once she was settled.

"My father found us. It was good, until I found out who he really was. He's Deathstroke, Babs..." I explained to her. Her mouth dropped wide open.

"We have to call Bruce." She said seriously. I just nodded in agreement. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. Bruce's number.

"What is it, Barbara?" He asked, clearly not in a good mood. She had it on speaker.

"Are you somewhere private?" She asked him.

"Yes. My office. What do you need?"

"Danny's at my house right now. He says that Deathstroke is his dad!"

There was silence on Bruce's end of the phone.

"Bruce?"

"The cave. Now." He commanded as he hung up. Barbara put her phone away, and led me outside, to her car. She got in the driver's seat, and I got in the passenger's.

The drive was silent. I didn't know what to say, and I'm fairly certain Babs didn't either. We got to Wayne manor, and was greeted by Alfred at the front door.

"They are in the Cave." Alfred told us.

We both thanked him and ran down to the cave. Dick was spinning in the chair in front of the Batcomputer, and Bruce was punching a punching bag. He was clearly not happy.

He saw us come in, and he ran over to us. Dick limped out of the chair, and Bruce and began typing furiously on the Batcomputer.

He pulled up a picture of Slade.

"Is this him?" Bruce asked. I just nodded. "You're one hundred percent sure?"

"Yes, Bruce. Look at his eye. It looks exactly like both of Kameron's." I said, pointing. He looked closely at the screen, studying it for a moment.

"Do you have a picture?" Bruce asked.

"Bruce," Barbara cut in, "He looks exactly like the two of them. It is definitely him."

Bruce sat there for what seemed like the longest time, just studying the picture.

"Will he know the secret?" He finally asked me.

"What?"

He turned toward me.

"Will he know the secret?" He said again.

"He knows who I am, but not any of you."

"Deathstroke can use ninety percent of his brain. If you leave him any way he can find out, he will. Did you tell him your 'job?'"

"No Bruce."

"What about your family? Will they tell him?"

"That's already taken care of."

"Good." He said as he turned towards the screen again.

The three of us teenagers stood there awkwardly as Batman stared at the screen. Dick finally spoke up.

"So... What now?" He asked Bruce.

"What do you think?" Bruce asked back.

"Um... It's bad." A confused Dick Grayson replied.

"This is more than bad." Bruce said, standing up, "This is one of the worst possible things that could happen. We-"

"I have an idea." I muttered, interrupting Bruce.

"What?" He asked me.

"I have an idea. What if we set a trap for him?"

"Explain." Bruce commanded, turning his chair towards me and sitting in it once again.

"What if Slade 'overhears' me talking on the phone to you about training? We say we are gonna meet one place to train, and when Slade follows me, we ambush him?"

"That could work..." Bruce said as he turned his chair back to the Batcomputer. Dick, Babs, and I left the Batcave.

"So, you going to the homecoming dance?" Dick asked me once we were out of the cave.

"What?" I asked back.

"The homecoming dance? This Friday?"

"Oh, right. I don't know. Are you?"

"Well, maybe, if a certain someone..." he said, motioning to Barbara, "says yes."

"Dick, I've already been asked. Plus, I gotta say no to him." Barbara cut in, "I have to help Bruce that night."

"Right..." Dick said, sounding disappointed. He turned to me, "What about Meg? You gonna ask her, or can I?"

"I think Kam's going to ask her." I replied, trying not to sound depressed.

"Wait, don't you have dibs or something?"

"I dunno..."

"Well, do you still like her?"

"Yeah, but I... I just dunno." I said. Then my phone started going off like crazy. There's no cell reception in the Batcave, so any texts or voicemails you get while in there you receive as soon as you exit. Normally, I only get one or two, but this time I got a ton.

Basically, the messages went as follows: Kam seemed pissed that I was Megan's, My mother told me I should come home, and Helena just told me to call her.

Not feeling up to dealing with Kameron or my mother, I separated myself from my two friends and called Helena.

"Danny! I'm so glad you're ok!" She said when she picked up.

"Yeah... Why wouldn't I be?" I asked her.

"Kam texted me and asked if you were here. They've been worried about you."

"Yeah? Well let 'em."

"What happened?"

"My dad found us."

"Yeah, and isn't that good?"

"No, it isn't. He... I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because, it needs to stay secret."

"Danny, I can keep secrets."

"I'm sorry. I just can't tell you."

"What? Wh-"

"Bye, I'll call you later." I said as I hung up. I felt bad hanging up on her like that, but I couldn't think of a lie right then. I couldn't think of anything at all right then. My mind was racing too much. I felt like I was going to go insane. In the madness, I heard a voice.

"Girl troubles?" The voice of Batman said behind me. I turned toward him. He was leaning up against the door frame. He was wearing pajamas, and had taken a shower.

"Yeah..." I said, nodding.

"Well, Bruce Wayne's got plenty of those." He said with a smile, "Need to talk about them?"

"What about Batman? Bruce Wayne isn't an actual person, so his don't count."

"I'm offended." Batman said to me.

"Alfred's words, not mine." I said, sitting down in a nearby chair.

"Fair enough. Batman does have a few girl problems. Some of which are the same as yours. For example, not knowing who you like better."

"Jeez, you really are the world's greatest detective." I said. We both laughed.

"Danny, this is off topic, but how much do you know about your brother?"

"Kam?"

"Yes. How much do you know about him."

"Everything. He's my twin. We kinda have twin telepathy, if that's a thing."

"Oh really? Did you know that he has schizophrenia?"

"What?"

"I looked into your family's medical records. Kameron is taking Ritalin. It's a common drug used to treat various mood disorders, schizophrenia being one of them."

"What are you saying?" I asked Bruce suspiciously.

"Just... Keep an eye out for him. And go home. I'll make the preparations for your plan."

"But what about-"

"Deathstroke won't attack you. At least not while you aren't The Dayhound. He's not going to attack his own son. He has a reason for finding his family, and he won't blow his cover just because he knows who you are." Bruce said. He headed toward the Batcave, and I headed toward the room where Dick and Barbara were.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: To anyone that may read this, I'm sorry that I haven't written anything recently. I have been dealing with the stress of schooling, as well as my own depression. My life is now somewhat on track, so I can begin writing again. I'd like to thank you all for reading this story, and I hope that you enjoy it. I don't know if anyone actually is, because no one has left a review. Please, if you could do that, that would be wonderful. Just tell me what you think, and what I could do to improve it.**

The two of them were laughing when I walked in.

"Hey Danny," Barbara said as she noticed me come in, "come sit down, Dick was just telling about how a guy tried to convince him that he was Batman."

"Thanks, but I kinda just wanna go home, do you mind taking me?" I asked Barbara.

"Sure thing. See ya, Dick." She said as she stood up.

"See ya Danny, see ya Babs."

We left the house and went out to Barbara's car.

"So, what exactly is up between you two?" I asked her once we were away from Wayne manor.

"Who? Dick and I?" She asked back.

"Mhm. Do you like him?"

"To be honest, he's cute. But he's immature and I can't tell if he actually likes me, or is just a big flirt."

"I think he does like you. I never really see him hitting on anyone else and-" I started before we had to stop. There was a police line cutting us off.

"Oh my... What happen-" I started to say as Barbara left the car. I followed after her. She went up to a tall man with a thick mustache and a pair if black box-rimmed glasses on. The commissioner. Her father.

"Dad, what happened?" She asked him.

"Barbara? What are you doing here?" He said, not answering her question.

"I was going to drop my friend off." She replied, motioning to me, "What happened?"

"Just a small drug fight. Go home now. I don't want either of you kids to see any of this." The commissioner ordered. I ignored him. Someone had caught my eye. They were lifting him on a gurney.

"Roger..." I whispered as I ducked under the police line. Commissioner Gordon and various other officers tried to catch me, but I was either too fast or pulled easily away from their grip.

"Roger!" I started yelling as I got close. He managed to open an eye as he heard me calling. The other was swollen shut.

"Dan?" He asked as I neared, "what are you doing here?"

"Roger, what happened?"

"The dealer... From last night."

"He did this to you?!"

"Yeah... Don't worry, Danny, I'll be okay..."

They lifted him into the ambulance, and I let the police escort me out. Once I was out of the police investigation area, Barbara led me back to the car. As if she knew what I wanted, she followed the ambulance to the hospital. We ran up the stairs, and into the waiting room. The Doctor told us that he would need to go into surgery before any of us could see him. I waited. I waited for hours. Barbara had left, but I still waited. I slept as I waited. The sleep was nice.

I was woken up by a nurse. She said something about visiting hours being over.

"Please, can I just see my friend?" I begged her. She shook her head.

"Your friend... He didn't make it. I'm sorry." She said, as I stood up. Then, some people who I'm assuming were Roger's family came in. Their eyes were wet, all except the father, who looked at me.

"You're Daniel Wilson?" He asked as he approached. I nodded. I was about ready to cry myself. He passed me a note, and a football. We didn't say anything else. We didn't even make eye contact.

I unfolded the note. It was from Roger.

"Danny," the note started with, "First off, I'm sorry. I swear, I was heading home after you beat the crap outta that dealer. But that's not what this note is about. I know I'm not gonna make it. The doctor says I might, but I won't.

Danny, I know you're a hero. I always knew you would be, and I know you are now. Ever since I was little, I've been able to know the futures of certain people I met. Call me crazy, but it's true. I know who you are. I know more about you than you know yourself. You will love, you will lose, and you will feel great pain, both physical and emotional. As depressing as this sounds, there is an upside. You will go on to do great things. You will inspire others to do great things.

My final words to you will be to thank you. Thanks for being my friend in these past few weeks. Lots of people are my friends just because I'm popular, or I'm cool. But you, you've been my friend just because you wanted to. Thanks for that, Dan.

The football is for Kam. He's also been a great friend. I hope you and him don't miss me too much.

See ya when you get up there,

Roger."

As I read those last few words, I noticed tears streaming down my face. Everything came back to reality. The nurse was telling me over and over that I needed to leave. I shoved the note in my pocket, tucked the football in my elbow, and headed toward the door.

Once out in the street, I headed towards the monorail station. Not a lot people took the monorail this late at night. It was really shady, usually a drug deal or something was going on in each train. But I didn't have a choice. All the buses stopped running at 10:30, and currently it was 10:45.

I boarded the train, and looked at the map. Just my luck! There was a monorail station a block away from my house.

I sat down and tried to act nonchalant. There were three other guys on the train, and none of them looked all that kind. I tried not to take heed to them, and not to draw attention to myself.

I thought I did a pretty good job, but apparently not good enough. The three of them approached me.

"Don't I know you?" The one in the center said.

"Nah man." I said, trying my best to put on an East End accent.

"I think I do. Ain't you that kid who moved in tuh that building by Gino's." He said. He was referring to Gino's Convienience Store. It was really just a front for a mob drug factory, but it was virtually untouchable by the Police.

"Yeah? What about it?" I replied, standing up. I was taller than him, but didn't look nearly as intimidating.

"Well, I happen to have seen you. You go to that fancy-smancy school. Gotham High."

"Nah man, I go to Gotham East."

"Oh really? Well I-" the thug started to say before I slugged him in the throat. It was a bold move, meaning that if I hit him hard enough I could've crushed his windpipe, but this was self defense. The thug I punched staggered back, gasping for air as the other two realized what had just happen. One pulled a knife out of his coat, and the other a pair of brass knuckles.  
The one with the knife swung at me. I dodged to the left. The knife cut my shoulder, but otherwise, I had successfully dodged it. The knife wielder didn't expect me to be so fast, so he needed a second to wrap his mind around what had happened. Unfortunately, I was now directly in front of the one with brass knuckles. He wildly swung, catching me with a hard right hook directly at my face. I staggered to my left, trying to keep my footing.

By this time, they were all closing in on me. I jumped back into my ready position. Adrenaline had completely taken control by now. I wasn't going to die. Not on that day. My best friend had just died, and I couldn't let his death go without bringing his killer to justice.

The one with the knife charged me, attempting to stab me with a lunge. I dodged to the side and slammed my elbow into his kidney. I started to turn around to face the others, when a wet boot hit my face. I flew a couple of feet, and hit the ground hard.

That's when the one with the brass knuckles got on top of me. He began raining down punches on my now defenseless face. I was beginning to lose consciousness when I hurt a grunt and a squishing noise coming from behind my attacker.

"Who are you?!" The knife-wielder said from above me. I saw a knife plunge into his heart as he flew backwards. My attacker got up, but didn't stand a chance. I saw two silver flashes, and then I saw his arms come off. His head soon followed that. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see what was going to kill me.

"Danny, get up!" The voice of Deathstroke said in the darkness. I opened my eyes to see an orange and black mask with one eye staring at me.

"Why did you come?" I asked him.

"You may not like it, hell, I don't even like it, but you're still my son." He said, helping me to my feet. I grabbed the football as we got off the train.

"You killed them..." I said once we were off.

"So? I kill lots of people."

"Yeah, but you weren't paid to kill these men. They just needed money. You could have just scared them off."

"That's not how I roll, Danny-boy. That may be how your Bat-friend does things, but that's why I'm not in jail yet. He can't keep up with me because he's too merciful. That's why I always win."

"You're wrong. We will stop you."

"We'll see about that." He said smugly, "I have to go change clothes. Go home. Tell your mother I had to take a work call."

I nodded as he bounced off a wall, launching himself into a fire escape. I headed inside our building. I walked slowly up the stairs, and into our apartment.

Once I was in there, I tossed Kam the football. He let it hit him. He didn't care. He was feeling the same thing that I was. Despair. It's fairly easy to fall asleep after the death of a friend. At least then, you'll be able to dream of them.


	13. Chapter 13

I woke with a start. Not because I had a nightmare, but because there was a black shape standing over my bed, shaking me. I quickly grabbed my bat, and tried to slam it into the person who I thought was attacking me. He caught it with lightning-fast reflexes.

"Daniel! Calm down, it's just me." Batman whispered, in that impossibly quiet whisper he can do. I opened my mouth to speak, but he covered it. "Get your costume on. Batgirl's spotted Deathstroke heading towards the mayor's house."

I nodded, and snuck into my closet to change. Batman was waiting for me on the fire escape. Without saying a word, he shoved something into my hands. After feeling it for a moment, I realized that he had just handed me a grapple gun like his. I nodded in thanks, and we grappled toward the rooftop across the street.

Batgirl was standing there, waiting for us. This was really the first time I had seen Babs in her costume in relatively good light, and I have to say, she looked good. I mean, she looked good normally, but there's just something about a girl in costume that I really loved.

"We need to beat Deathstroke there." Batman said, already walking the direction of the mayor's estate, "if we get there before he does, we can cut him off, and get him."

We followed Batman's lead, sticking silently to the rooftops, and moving quickly as we could. When we were about halfway there, we heard a cry for help to our left. Instinctively, Batman, who was ten feet ahead of me, stopped and turned to his left.

I tried to warn him about a shadow running up behind him, but I wasn't fast enough. The shadow leapt into the air and nailed Batman with a flying kick, sending him tumbling off the rooftop.

"You didn't actually think that I was sent here to kill the mayor, did you, Batman?" My father yelled down at Batman.

There was no reply. I actually thought for a moment that Deathstroke had killed Batman. I was thankfully mistaken.

Batman flew up, fifteen feet about the edge of the building, and landed, slightly bowed, in front of Deathstroke.

"Of course I didn't. I just had to let you think I did." He said as he got into a fighting stance. The two began to clash. Batgirl and I ran into the fight, but Deathstroke wasn't alone. He had about thirteen of Black Mask's henchmen to back him up.

Batgirl nodded to me, and leapt straight at me. I held up my bat as she put her feet against it. She pushed herself off, flipping in the air. She crashed straight into the middle of the group with her feet landing on the poor guy she targeted. I charged into the front of the group, bashing the first henchman in the top of the shoulder with my bat.

I wildly swung at the one to his left, and kicked him into the roof access of the building we were on. The door collapsed under his weight, sending him tumbling down the stairs. I jumped into the air and dove onto a third guy's head, slamming it into the ground. I rolled over and flipped myself up. A fourth man tried to stab me with his knife, but I shattered his wrist with my bat. He fell onto the ground, writhing in pain. I kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold. I wasn't fast enough for a fifth man, who tackled me off the rooftop. We tumbled off, onto some scaffolding. I managed to roll so I was on top of him. He absorbed most of the shock. Kind of a selfish move, on my part, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time.

"Are you alright?!" I yelled at him.

"Uh... I think I broke a rib..."

"Don't worry, you'll be-" I started to say, until I saw who it was. It was the dealer. The man who had killed one of my best friends.

"A-are you ok man? You're lookin' at me like some kinda crazy." He said, snapping me back into reality.

"You killed him. You killed my best friend."

"What?"

I removed my hood, and pulled my scarf off of my face.

"You killed my best friend!"

"Oh no... You're that kid who kicked the crap outta me last night..."

"And you're the man who killed my best friend." I said, picking him up off of the ground and hoisting him in the air.

"P-p-please! I-I-I'm sorry! Don't kill me!"

"Go ahead," my father's voice said from my left, "he deserves it, doesn't he?"

"What do you mean, man? You're supposed to be on our side!" The dealer said, his voice shaking.

I didn't think. I should've, but I didn't. I just did it. I threw the man off the scaffolding. I heard Barbara scream my name from my right as I did it. As soon as I heard that scream, I realized what I had done. I didn't want to look at the mess that lay on the street twenty-five feet below me, but I couldn't stop myself. He looked strangely peaceful, laying in that pool of blood. I felt tears running down my face. The world became muffled. I still heard my father's psycho laughing, and Barbara's screaming, but I could only focus on one thing. The body below me. Then, I looked up. On the rooftop across from me, I saw him, the Batman. And I was scared. For once in my life, I was scared of the man, of the hero, I idolized. He didn't look sad, or angry, but he did have a blank expression, and that is was scared me the most. I could look to my left, and see someone who was overjoyed, or to my right, and see someone who was terribly sad, but it was the lack of expression that scared me the most. It was as if he didn't care anymore. The closest thing I had to a real father didn't care anymore.

It felt like hours that we stood there, none of us knew what to do, so I did the only thing I could, I ran. I broke through the window behind me, and ran as fast as I could down to the first floor. I went out the back door, and ran down the street. I didn't know where I was running to, but I was running.

Somehow, as if by destiny, I found myself at the Bertinelli house. I was still in my costume, but I didn't care. I was definitely fired, so it didn't matter who knew who I was.

I ran around back, climbed the ivy, knocked on Helena's window, and prayed she would respond. After a few seconds, she opened.

"Danny? Oh my... What happened to you?! You're covered in blood! Have you been crying?" She said, opening the window.

"One question at a time, please..." I said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Right, right! Come in! You look like you're freezing." She said, practically pulling me in. "What are you wearing?"

I told the whole story to her, keeping out everyone's secret identities, and ending with the murder I had committed tonight.

"Oh my... Danny... Are you ok?" She asked after I was done explaining.

"No, Helena, I'm not. I'm exactly like my father. I'm a killer. A murderer. I'm not a hero. I'm-" I started to say before Helena cut me off.

"Danny! Listen to me! You aren't your father. You... You're the greatest boy I have ever met. If you're a killer, then that had to be the right thing. Any decision you make has to be the right thing. You can't make a bad choice. And you know why?"

I shook my head.

"Because you have a heart of gold. You are special. I have known since I first met you. You are something extraordinary. You are meant to be special. You aren't my father, your father, or anyone's father. You aren't even Batman. Batman makes mistakes but he doesn't think that he does. You... you do too. You make mistakes, because no one is perfect. But the difference between you and everyone else, is that you live with your mistakes. Every mistake you have ever made, you remember. That's why you are so depressed all the time, that's why you feel so guilty all of the time. You remember every mistake you have ever made, and you don't forgive yourself. But I feel like you need to. Don't let your father, Batman, or guilt control your life."

By the time she was done, I was crying. Not loudly, but tears were streaming down my face.

"Helena..." I whispered softly. She put her finger up to my lips.

"Danny, don't say anything. I don't want to hear you tell me that I am wrong, or that you can't be everything I think you are, because you may not think so, but you are a hero. And I... I love you."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then we heard a knock at the door.

"Helena? You awake, honey?" Her father said after knocking.

"Yeah, one second, dad!" She called back, kissing me, then shoving me towards the window. I climbed out just in time as she pulled open the door.

"Great. Listen baby-girl, we need to talk." Her father said.

"About what, daddy?"

"Business. One day, it will be yours. Come downstairs. I have a hidden... Meeting room, where we hold meetings for our... Less than legal operations."

They both left the room, so I jumped down off the ivy. I started walking. I walked towards Wayne Tower. Once there, as though in a blur, I found myself atop of it. I was standing on a ledge, facing east. The sun was beginning to rise over the bay. It was so beautiful. I didn't know whether I wanted to break down and cry or just end it right there and then. I no longer felt in control, as I started to take a step forward. My short walk off of Wayne Tower ended there, when a very strong hand grabbed my wrist.

"And just where do you think you're going, young man?" A kind, powerful voice asked. I turned toward it, and I was stunned.

Standing in front of me, was a god. The Man of Steel. The Superman.

"You don't think that's the right answer, do you?" He asked me.

I shook my head.

"Then why are you doing it?" He asked.

"Because I killed a man." I replied.

"Lots of people kill others, yet they aren't trying to kill themselves."

"I know, but I can't handle it. I had a choice, and I let rage control my life."

"So don't do it again, Dayhound. Learn from this mistake."

"I... I can't. I'm fired."

"Just meet me at Wayne Manor after school. I can be very... Influential on Bruce." He said, as he started to float away. I nodded, and climbed down the building.

When I got down off the building, I saw Deathstroke.

"You're exactly like me." He said.

"No, I'm not. I am a hero!" I yelled at him.

"Oh really? Why don't you look at yourself?" He said, holding up a mirror. I stared into my own half-black, half-orange mask. I had one eye. One gray eye. Then, I woke up with a start.

"Oh thank God..." I said as I realized I had been dreaming, "it was just a dream."

This was before I realized where I was. I was in Helena's room. I was still wearing my costume. Helena was sleeping next to me. It was all real. I had still killed that man. I was still a murderer.

I kissed Helena on the head, and jumped out of the window. I didn't know what to do. The sun was rising, and school would start in a few hours, but I couldn't go. How could I? That's where Babs and Dick were. I couldn't face them after last night. There was no one in the world who I even wanted to see. I managed to make my way home quietly and sneak in before Kam and my parents were awake (though I doubt Slade was sleeping). I changed clothes and went out the front door. I was barely three feet away from the door before someone grabbed me.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Megan asked me happily.

"Let me go..." I whispered bitterly as I yanked out of her grip. I turned around to keep going but somehow she was in front of me.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. I didn't say anything, I just looked into her eyes for a second, then started crying on her shoulder. She patted my back and led me inside her apartment.

She sat me down on the couch. She was gone though, and Roger was standing where she had been.

"What the-" I said, in surprise.

"Shut up, Danny. It's harder for me to hold male forms." Roger's voice said. I realized it wasn't Roger I was speaking to, it was Megan. She had shape shifted into Roger.

"Danny," She started to say as Roger, "I know you're a hero. I always knew you would be, and I know you are now."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't say anything. It may have been Megan speaking, but she was using Roger's words. Those were the words from the note. Then, I realized how tired I was. I hadn't had 3 hours if sleep in the past two days.

"Go to sleep, my hero," Megan said, changing back to herself, "for tomorrow, the day will rise."

Then, I passed out.


	14. Chapter 14

"Is he ok?" I heard a familiar voice say as I started to wake up.

"Yes... I think so. He's just asleep. He hasn't slept in two days." Megan replied to the other girl.

"Meg... I'm worried about him."

"Don't worry, the police can't trace him. The only witnesses all have secret identities."

"No, not that. I'm worried about him. He... He isn't the same. When he came to my house last night... He was different. His eyes had a different look about them. It's like... I barely knew who he was, but at the same time I have never felt closer to him." The first voice, who I now recognized as Helena, said worriedly.

"I... I don't know what to tell you." Megan said sadly, "You really love him, don't you?"

"I think so..."

I opened my eyes now. I saw Megan and Helena in front of me. Helena opened her mouth to speak, but then didn't.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"5 o'clock. Kam and I told your mom that you were staying after school to help with setting up for the homecoming dance." Megan replied

"Kam! Oh no... You didn't tell him, did you?"

"No... No I didn't, but Danny, I think you should. Not about the murder, not yet, at least, but you should tell him about the Dayhound. He is your brothe-"

"Why should I?" I yelled at Meg. I'll be honest, I didn't mean to yell, but there was so much going through my head, I couldn't help but yell. It's as if I were trying to yell over the world. "Why should I tell Kameron about something that doesn't exist?!

"Well..." Megan started to say before looking down, clearly discouraged.

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say. I ran out of her apartment, and up the stairs, to the roof. It had kind of become a sanctuary to me over these past few weeks. I walked up to the railing on the side of the building and leaned up against it.

I wasn't alone this time, though. Helena had followed me up here.

"What was that, Danny?" She asked me, coming up right next to me.

"I don't know. I just... I keep replaying it in my head. The terror on that guy's face as I picked him up..."

"Did you have a nightmare about it?"

"Only at your house. And it wasn't all that much of a nightmare." I said, staring down the block. Helena was quiet for a while. She had grabbed my hand and was staring at the ground below.

"Danny, were you gonna ask me to homecoming?" She eventually asked.

"What?" I asked back, somewhat surprised.

"Were you going to ask me to the homecoming dance? I mean, I hoped you would, but I wasn't sure, because you've been really busy lately..."

"I dunno. Maybe I was."

"Ok..." She said. She breathed in and out loudly once, "Well, um... Would you like to go? With me?"

I turned to look at her. I saw those gorgeous blue eyes staring me right in the face, and I just melted.

"Of course. I'd love to." I replied, in a much lighter tone than I'd used all day. I bent down and kissed her.

"Ahem," interrupted Megan, "Danny, my uncle needs you."

"He's home? I thought he didn't get home until late at night." I replied, puzzled.

"He isn't. He needs your help over at the orphanage three blocks away. There's a fire, and people are trapped inside."

"Why doesn't he just go-"

"Because we can't stand fire! Martians burn worse than wood."

"Meg... I'm sorry," I started to say, "but I'm not a hero."

This time, it was Helena's turn to yell.

"Not if you don't help those people!" She yelled at me, "I don't care what Batman says, Batman doesn't make the rules of Heroism. If you go help those people, than who says you aren't a hero?"

I thought about this for a second. Megan tossed me the bundle containing my costume, and my bat. I smiled, and put on my costume. I kissed Helena on the cheek before pulling up my scarf and hood. I gave the girls a wink, and dove off the building.

It took me five minutes to get to the orphanage by rooftop. It was easy to spot because the majority of it was engulfed in flames, but I could hear people inside screaming for help. Helena was right. I didn't need Batman's approval to be a hero.

I dove off the roof I was on through a broken window in the orphanage. I pulled down my scarf and put a respirator attached to my belt over my mouth. I slung my bat against my back using a leather strap I had attached to it.

I heard voices calling for help in a nearby room. I kicked the door in. There were just kids inside when I stepped through, so I didn't expect anyone to hit me with a chair from behind.

"Ow!" I cried out as I nearly fell down.

"What do you want?" Said a girl who was close to my age, holding the shattered chair towards me.

"What do you think? To save you people!" I yelled at her.

"Oh... Sorry then... I'm Donna." She said, dropping the chair and extending a hand.

"Now isn't really the time for introductions. We need to get these kids outta here."

"Right... The stairs are busted. We are kinda trapped here."

"Who says I need stairs? Could you find me as much clothes as there are kids?" I asked, pulling out my grappling gun. She nodded as I smashed the window in the room, and shot my grapple gun onto the pavement below. I tied the line onto a sturdy pipe above. Donna came back with a bunch of clothes. I instructed all the kids to take an article of clothing, and helped them all zip line down into the arms of a policeman or fireman who was waiting for them.

The last kid was down, when the pipe exploded. I turned my back to the explosion and wrapped my arms around Donna, shielding her from any shrapnel. I hurried her out of the room before it collapsed behind us.

"The whole building is falling!" She cried out.

"I know! Is there anyone else in here?" I yelled over the flames.

"I don't know. I don't think so." She said as the ceiling in front of the window I came in crashed through the floor..

"Roof access! Where?" I yelled, shielding my face from the heat that had been released.

"This way!" She screamed as she grabbed my hand. She led me up some stairs. She reached for the door handle, but I stopped her. It would've burned her hand.

I kicked the door down, and we burst out into the fresh air.

"Oh thanks the Gods!" She cried out as soon as we were out.

"What?" I asked her, puzzled.

"Oh thank God? You know? God?"

"Right. Thought I heard something else."

"That happens a lot. It's weird."

I opened my mouth, but I heard cracking. As soon as I realized what it was, I knew I had seconds to react. I grabbed Donna around the waist, and whipped out my grapple gun.

"What are you-" She started to ask, before the floor collapsed underneath us. I shot my grapple gun at a rooftop nearby. I pressed the button like Batman had taught me, and we zipped up onto the roof.

We rolled when we hit, and I threw my respirator off.

"Holy smokes! What a thrill!" Donna yelled with a smile.

"Donna?" I asked her, throwing my scarf back over my face.

"What?"

"Why did you hit me with that chair?"

Her eyes widened as she remembered.

"Firefly..." She whispered, fearfully. Before I could ask what she was talking about, I heard an explosion come from the blazing orphanage.

"Gotham will burn!" Yelled a fireball that had burst out of the building. When he stopped flying, I saw him.

Firefly aka, Garfield Lynns. Previously, he had been a fireman. A hero, even. Unfortunately, it was this heroism that led to his downfall. He got caught in a fire, and nearly burned to death. He survived, with burn scars coving nearly ninety percent of his body. The doctors thought it was a miracle, at the time. They would soon rebuke those words. His burns drove him insane. He would later get a job at a military base as a janitor. They thought of him as a hero who still wanted to give back to society. How wrong they were. He stole some prototype, fire-proof armor, a prototype jetpack, and a flamethrower in order to become the Firefly, sworn to make everyone feel the flames.

"You gotta stop him, don't you?" Donna asked me sadly.

"Yeah..." I replied, pulling my bat off of my back.

"Can I at least know your name?"

"Dayhound." I replied, as I picked up my grapple gun. I aimed it towards the maniac flying around, shooting flames. I fired, and pressed the button. I got pulled through the air, straight towards the insect.

"Get off'a me!" He screamed, spinning around, reaching for the grapple claw attached to his back. I will admit, I was getting pretty dizzy, but I held on. I pulled myself up the line, and attached the grapple gun to my belt. To be completely honest, I had no idea what I was doing, or even what I was gonna do.

"Um... Land this thing, or I will... I'll land it for you!" I said, trying to sound intimidating.

"You think I'm scared, kid? You play with fire, you get burned!" He yelled at me, shooting flames behind him. I let go of the line, and let myself drop down a couple feet. I was out of range of the flames.

I began to climb up the line again. I yanked it one way, trying to set him off course, but clearly he'd done this before, with Batman. He corrected himself and began to fly around again, trying to crash me into various buildings and things. I was able to avoid the majority of crashes, keyword: majority. Honestly, if I wasn't strapped on, I would've let go.

Eventually, I got to the jetpack. There was a panel, but luckily, Batman had given me a solution: a utility knife strapped to my belt. He made it very clear that it was NEVER to be used as a weapon, but it was useful for just about everything. I pulled the knife off of my belt, and began unscrewing the screws. When I got enough off, I pried the panel off to reveal a whole bunch of wires and stuff. I just started to rip a bunch of it out. I heard the jetpack failing as we started descending quickly towards a nearby rooftop.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Firefly called out, frantically pawing at the jetpack. I leapt off of him, rolling when I hit the roof. He crashed onto the roof, and started groaning in pain.

"Wow... Is it strange I find that really hot?" Donna said, appearing next to me.

"Was that a pun?" I asked her.

"You tell me." She said, flirtatiously and winking, "So, you're like Batman, kinda?"

"Yeah... Kinda."

"Wow, that's cool."

"You just go to the orphanage?"

"Yeah... Well, I did, but it kinda burned down."

"Right. Well, I have more, um... Hero stuff to do. See ya!" I said, handcuffing firefly to a post.

"Oh, I hope I do." Donna replied, still flirting with me as I grappled away.

Once I was sure there wasn't anyone around, I called Meg.

"Danny! Thank god, you're ok!" She exclaimed as she picked up.

"Oh, I'm more than ok. Helena still there?" I said, smiling under my scarf

"Yeah."

"Great! Put it on speaker."

I heard a click, then Helena said hi.

"Hey, you guys will never believe what I did!" I told them.

"What did you do?" Helena asked.

I began recounting my tale, starting at when I got there, and ending at where I stopped Firefly.

"So... I'm assuming you're staying out all night?" Megan asked.

"Um... Maybe. Actually, scratch that, of course I am!"

"Danny," Helena chimed in, "I don't mean to be a spoil sport, but what about your family?"

"What about 'em?"

"Your mom and Slade still think you're helping at the school. Kam thinks you'll be back at around ten."

"Right! Shoot... Um... Damn... Alright... I'll come back. Meg, wake me up psychically by say... Eleven o'clock."

"Dude, you need sleep!" Meg said, her voice full of concern.

"It's ok! I'll be fine!" I said, trying to reassure her. She eventually gave a grunt of agreement and hung up. I ran home, put my costume back in the bundle, and went downstairs, into my apartment.

"Hey Danny!" My mother greeted me as I walked in, "how was setting up?"

"Oh, y'know, it was as fine as setting up can get." I replied, trying to make my way over to my room.

"Have you had anything to eat, son?" Slade said over by the dinner table. I looked at him. He was smiling. I smiled back at him. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Then I realized what he said.

"Right, eating..." I whispered to myself. I hadn't eaten all day, but I hadn't really felt the effects of it.

"What was that?" My mother asked me.

"I just said that I hadn't eaten yet. What did you make?" I replied as I sat at the table with Slade.

"Just some soup. You'll love it." She said happily back as she passed me a bowl. I scarfed it down quickly and went to bed. I was nearly in my bed when I flew three feet off the ground at the sound of Kam's voice.

"Hey bro, where were you?" He asked me.

"In town." I replied, brooding.

"Oh... Cool?" He said puzzled, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, Kam, I am."

"It's gonna be ok, you know. Roger wanted us to stay happy."

Not gonna lie, at first, I had no idea what he was talking avoirdupois but then I realized why he thought I was upset. He had no idea that as of this morning I'd became a killer.

"Right, I know." I said as I laid down in my bed.

After about five minutes of just laying there, I had to know what Kameron thought.

"Kam, do you think they'd... I mean they'll bring Roger's killer to justice?" I asked him.

"The police? Nah. Maybe Batman. Heck, even this new guy who I saw on the news. This smokin' chick who he saved said he called himself The Dayhound or somthin'." He excitedly replied.

"Oh yeah? Whatdoya think of him?"

"The Dayhound? He's sweet! Didn't you see the news report?"

"No. Meg's dad told me about him when I saw him outside."

"Dude, man, he wears this sick gray-white costume, and a hood... Man, he is one cool guy. You shoulda seen him fighting that dude, um... Firefly, I think it is. It was sweet. Dude, seriously, he is a hero."

I smiled to myself at his comments. This really what I wanted. To be called a hero by people who had no idea who I was. I knew people would be talking about me tomorrow, and there was no way I could even get an ounce of sleep tonight.


	15. Chapter 15: Day Rise

"Ok Danny," I heard Megan's voice in my head, "everyone in your apartment is asleep."

"Sweet!" I thought to her, "you're the best, Meg."

"I know." She replied in a happy tone, "Be careful, ok Danny?"

"I always am." I thought back as I got my costume on. I could sense her rolling her eyes, "I promise."

"Thank you." She replied. I felt the link go dead as I leapt off the fire escape onto the roof.

After about five minutes of patrolling, I found my first crime. Someone had broke into a convenience store just down the street.

"You've picked a bad night to be a criminal, buddy." I whispered to myself as I prepared my bat. I jumped down from my rooftop perch and shot my grapple gun at a lamp post. I swung off of it and slammed through the doors of the convenience store.

"What the he-" The criminal started to say before I rushed him. He reached in his pocket for his weapon, but he was too slow. I shoulder checked the perpetrator into the wall behind him. He groaned as I put him in a headlock. I squeezed his neck tight until I felt his body go limp. I carried him out into the street and tied his hands to a lamp post. I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket and wrote this on it:

"To all criminals and ner-do-wells:

This is my city now. You may think you know Batman's search patterns, but you don't know mine. If you commit a crime, you will be stopped. And if you think you're safe when the sun rises, you are gravely mistaken. The Day has risen and will never fall."

I taped the piece of paper to his body, then grappled to a nearby rooftop, where I called the police.

"Hello, GCPD, what is the nature of this call?" A voice chimed on the phone.

"Yes, I'd like to leave an anonymous tip," I said in a deep voice, "There's a would-be robber at the convenience store on 54th Street."

"Is this one of Batman's people?" She asked me.

"No ma'm. This is the Dayhound." I replied in my deep voice as I hung up. I smiled to myself and sought out my next injustice to correct.

I got home at three in the morning. Late enough to get some good hours in, but early enough so no one would be awake. I changed back into my pajamas, and hid my costume in its usual place, in the bottom of my backpack. Then, I went to sleep.

"Dude, wake up!" I heard Kam say as he shook me awake.

"What do you want?" I said miserably. I was tired and not in the mood to be woken up.

"Your friend is here. Dick, I think his name is."

"Great... Where is he?"

"On the roof. He said for you to meet him up there.

I got dressed and went up to the roof. Dick was waiting there, wearing a plaid button up shirt and a pair of worn jeans.

"What do you want?" I asked him seriously after I saw the look on his face.

"You can't do hero work anymore. You're fired." He said, emotionless.

"So? Batman doesn't make the rules of heroism."

"I hoped you wouldn't be that way, Danny. Bruce said you would, but I hoped you wouldn't."

"So what?"

"I take your costume. By force."

I shook my head and got into my fighting position. He frowned, and reluctantly took his.

He attacked first, with a simple jab. Easily deflected. Truth is, I was trying to see if I could find any weakness. I knew he was a better fighter than me, so trying to beat him fair and square wasn't an option.

We fought for a little while, before I found it. His leg. The leg where he'd been shot. It still hadn't healed yet. Now I just had to wait for my chance.

"You can't beat me, Dan." He said in the middle of the fight.

"Who says that?" I smirked as I blocked another one of his punches.

His style was elegant and fast. Much like Batman's. I was very good at blocking though.

I decided to lead him into a trap. I left myself open for an easy leg sweep, and he took it. I fell hard onto the ground, but didn't mind it much. This was my real life I was fighting for, after all. I sprung up off the ground, using that momentum to send a huge knee into his thigh where he had been shot.

"Ah! What the hell, Danny?" He cried out as he dropped to the ground, clutching his leg.

"Sorry Dick, but I can't let you take the Dayhound away from me. You may think that you are the hero right now, but you're not. You'd be smart to leave." I said, as I turned to go downstairs. I knew that he'd try again, but I gave him a chance.

He sprung up, trying to nail me with a superman punch. His mistake. I punched his thigh while he was in the air, and grabbed his arm, twisting it around his back.

"You may be better than me, Grayson," I said to him, getting ready to dislocate his shoulder, "but I want it more."

The last time I heard from him that day was a short whimper of pain as I dislocated his shoulder. I walked off the roof with my head held high. I had just bested Robin and showed Batman that I was not going to give up.

Of course, this didn't prepare me for what came next when I was downstairs. I needed to come up with a lie, and fast.

"What did he want?" Kam asked, getting ready to leave as I got downstairs.

"Um... He just wanted to check on me. Roger, y'know?" I lied. I assumed he didn't hear any of the stuff going on upstairs, because he just accepted this answer.

"Well, see ya at school, little bro." He said, rubbing my head.

"Kam, we're twins."

"I am exactly four minutes and thirty-six seconds older. You're my little bro." He said, giving me a wink, then leaving the apartment.

A few minutes of just thinking later, I decided to get ready. I put on my uniform and filled my backpack up, making sure to cover my costume, then I departed. I considered taking my car, because I'd only driven it once, but I didn't want to explain where I got it from, so I just took the transit.

The bus was crowded, but as far as I could tell, I was the only Gotham High Student on. I sat next to a beautiful, dark haired, tan woman who I vaguely recognized.

"Hello!" She said, shaking my hand before I had a chance to react.

"Do I know you?" I asked her, obviously very confused.

"No, but you sat here, so I'm going to talk to you." She said, with a smile. I thought she was beautiful before, but that smile made me melt, "What is your name?"

"Danny."

"I'm Diana. Pleased to meet you, Danny."

"Yeah."

"Are all Gothamites like this?"

"Like what?"

"So moody. I have a friend who I am visiting, and he is the same way." She said, laughing. I couldn't help but join in on her laughter. It was infectious and insanely cute. Unfortunately, our conversation came to the end, when an explosion blew up the bridge in front of the bus.

"What was that?" I said seriously, standing up. The whole bus was soon evacuated.

When we got off the bus, a man standing on top of a car on our side of the bridge with a megaphone started talking.

"People of Gotham," he started to say on his megaphone, "you don't know me, but you will. I am Anarky, and I am your voice. I just blew the bridge connecting the East End to the Diamond District. This represents the East End's connection with the corporate heads in Diamond District. For years, we have been their slaves. Well I say no more!"

He was still talking, but I was done listening. I snuck over to an alleyway, where I could get my costume on without being noticed. This was clearly some kind of extremist attack. Batman worked only during the day under certain conditions, like Bane attacking Central Park or something, but the Dayhound knows no such limits. If there is a crime, even during the day, he would be there.

After I had my costume on, I grappled to the roof. This "Anarky" made an entrance, so I figured that I had to as well. Once on the roof, I leapt off onto the bus, smacking the top of it with my bat once I landed.

"You call yourself Anarky?" I said, making my voice more gravelly, "Well if that's the case, I call myself Order. I am the Dayhound, and you just blew your first and last bridge."

"I know very well who you are, and I am not afraid," Anarky yelled through his megaphone, "I am the voice of the people, and the people won't stay silent!"

"Have it your way..." I muttered, jumping off of the bus. I front flipped in the air and rolled when I hit the ground. I should've known that Anarky wasn't alone, but I didn't think about that until a guy fired a gun at me. He thankfully missed, but I had to react fast.

The fastest reaction I was able to come up with was throwing my bat at the guy. It was actually more effective than I thought it would be, making the man drop the pistol he was holding.

Of course, one gun dropped, didn't stop the other thugs from coming at me. The one nearest to me threw a strong punch, but I dodged it and elbowed him in the jaw. He dropped back a little ways, giving me just enough leeway to throw a powerful superman punch, which knocked him out.

There were a lot more than I could handle, and I got worried. Luckily, I found out I wasn't alone.

"I will not let you harm these innocent people, Anarky!" A female voice cried from the crowd. Then, I saw her.

Wonder Woman. Definitely one of the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes on to this day. She just happened to be the same woman I was talking to on the bus. I didn't know it at the time, but she actually somehow knew who I was when I got on the bus. She leapt through the air, long black hair flowing, skin glistening. The finishing touch was a small, tight outfit, which made my teenage boy mind go crazy. I was completely awe struck.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the best thing to do in my situation. I was introduced to reality by a brick. I nearly collapsed as it hit. Once I regained my footing, I was pissed. I spun to the guy who had thrown it. Anarky himself. The head haunch-o of all these crazies. I ran towards him. I pounced off a car and sent a flying kick at him. He flew six feet and slammed into a car hood. I didn't take into account the other twenty people who were following Anarky's lead. Luckily, Wonder Woman was in this fight as well. She landed next to me.

"You have skill, warrior." She complimented, getting ready to fight.

"Dayhound." I said, trying to act cool. Here was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen up to this point, so I needed to act cool.

The crazies started closing in on us, but I wasn't worried at all. If she wanted to, Wonder Woman could easily take out fifty men. I believed she was just checking out my fighting. She was checking me out. Granted it wasn't my appearance or even my personality, but still.

I swung my bat, nailing the nearest man in the head, sending him crashing into they guy on his right. The ruffian to my left tried to throw a jab at me, but I blocked it quickly with my left hand and countered with a head butt.

I will admit, I was showing off. As the fight lasted longer, my moves got flashier and flashier. I wanted to make a good impression. And I did.


	16. Chapter 16

"You are skilled." Wonder Woman said to me once the fight was over. The final blow had been a bat smash over Anarky's head. I will admit, it may have been just a little too hard, because it bent my bat.

"Thanks..." I replied, trying not to pant.

"You are clearly trained. It would be unusual for one of Batman's 'children' to be out during the day, but there is no one else in Gotham who could've. At least not without turning you into a killer."

I nodded and stated that I was indeed trained by Batman.

"So you wouldn't mind meeting me there? At the Batcave? After your schooling of course, but I do want to meet the real Dayhound."

I couldn't help but say that I would. It definitely was a bad idea, but I had to. It's like I couldn't say no.

After I agreed, she flew off in the direction of Wayne Manor, leaving me to deal with the police.

"Freeze! Drop the bat, and put your hands where I can see them, freak!" A detective said. I recognized him as Det. Harvey Bullock. Unfortunate for me, because he HATED super heroes.

"Sorry, Bullock," I said, pulling a few small pellets out of my bag, "but I'm late for school."

I threw the pellets to the ground, smoke erupting from them and surrounding me. I used my grapple gun to get onto the rooftop where I had stored my stuff, changed into my clothes, and shot my grapple gun onto a Diamond District rooftop. From there, I was able to get down to street level, and get a taxi to school.

When I got to school, it was the middle of second hour. I rushed into class.

"I am so sorry, Ms. Di'vè!" I said as I rushed into class and took my seat by Helena. "The bridge kinda exploded!"

"Oh? By whom?" She replied, looking up from the lesson book at me,

"Some crazy named Anarky. But some guy in a costume showed up, then Wonder Woman came, and they kicked a-"

"Language, Mr. Wilson." She scolded, going back to her lecture.

A few minutes in, the guy behind me, Ethan Kane, whispered to me.

"What did this guy look like? The one who showed up before Wonder Woman?" He whispered, just barely audibly. I described what The Dayhound looked like, without making it seem like I had spent hours just staring at the costume, which I had. It is a lot easier said than done, but I managed it. Throughout my whole description, I saw him drawing something on a piece of paper. When he was done, he showed me it.

"Like this?" He asked, handing me the piece of paper. I grabbed it, and looked at it. Scribbled on it was a fairly accurate doodle of what The Dayhound looked like. I nodded, telling him that it was accurate.

"Dude! This guy is sweet. He calls himself something like, The Dayhound, or something. Kinda tacky, but he's still pretty cool."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Helena. She looked pretty amused. I turned to look at her. She gave me a smile and a wink, then turned back to whatever she had been doing. She wasn't taking notes, because no one else was, but I couldn't see what she was doing without making it totally obvious, so I was left to guess.

When Ms. Di'Vè was distracted by a kid on the other side of the room, I leaned over to Helena.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked her quietly, surprising her.

"Don't look!" She whispered loudly, coving what she was doing, "I'll show you later."

I shrugged and went back to paying attention to the class. I kept trying to peek at what Helena was drawing, if she was drawing, but the way she was sitting wouldn't allow me to. I also decided to lay my head down on the desk. Bad move on my part. I was woken up by Ms. Di'Vè standing right in front of me.

"Danny! I'm glad to see you've rejoined the class." She said, smiling.

"No, I uh... Was just resting my eyes for a minute." I stammered out, trying to sound believable.

"Oh? Well, then I guess you won't mind repeating to the class what I had just said?"

"Um... Not at all!" I said cheerfully as I searched the room for some kind of answer. I looked at the board and and saw three words: I ran home. The word 'ran' was underlined.

"Well?" She said, getting impatient.

"We... We're talking about verbs." I said, sounding sure of myself.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the bell rang, so I rushed out. I was almost to P.E. when I got shoved from the side. I slammed through a door into a bathroom. Barbara walked in and locked the door.

"Barbara? Seriously? I thought you of all people would be cool with me still being a hero." I asked her as I stood up.

"I am. You broke Dick's arm!" She yelled at me, taking a step closer.

"I didn't break it! I dislocated it."

"You THOUGHT you dislocated it. You broke it, Danny!" She said. She lunged at me, trying to punch me. I dodged to the side, and pushed her from behind, sending her into the wall in front of her.

"It's not like I killed him! You don't need to attack me!" I said as she recovered.

"Danny, Dick has been nothing but nice to you, and what do you do? Break his damn arm!"

"Babs, you need to calm-" I started to say before being kicked square in the chest. I flew back into the door behind me, hitting it with a loud bang. I stood back up and got ready for the next blow.

She began to run at me, so I did like-wise. She leapt at me, trying another flying kick. I slid under her, and put my back against the back wall. She spun around and jumped again, sending a punch my way. I ducked it, and her fist hit the wall, shattering the wall tile and cutting her hand. I sent a knee up into her stomach before I backed away towards a stall door.

I didn't expect her to recover so quickly, and was thrown onto the ground by her. She pounced on me, and punched me a few times before the door was kicked open.

"Hey Red! That's my boyfriend you're punching!" Helena yelled at Barbara before kicking her. Honestly, I don't think it hurt her much, but it caught her off guard. Enough for me to pick her up and slam her into the wall, at least. Barbara groaned as she fell to the ground. She had lost consciousness.

I opened my mouth to thank Helena, but never got the chance. She jumped on me, wrapping her arms and legs around me. I was surprised, and almost fell over. If it weren't for the counter in the bathroom I would've. She kissed me a few times, and then hopped down.

"How did you know I needed help?" I asked her.

"For some weird reason, I had the urge to come find you. I was almost to the gym when I heard something hit the wall in here. I kinda figured it was you."

"Well thanks. You have blood on your lips."

"It's not mine, Danny." She said, wiping it off, "So Barbara Gordon is Batgirl?"

I didn't answer.

"Doesn't matter if you answer. She kicked your butt. She totally is."

"She did not kick my butt!" I said, offended, "I had it all under control."

"Yeah, I could tell by the way she was raining down punches on you." She said, giggling. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up."

We spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning off my face, cleaning the floor, and even cleaning up Barbara. We left her in one of the stalls so she could sleep in peace, then left the Bathroom.

I started to say goodbye, and head to P.E. but Helena grabbed my hand and started pulling me around. She pulled me out of the school and then to her car. I got in the passenger seat, and she the driver seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"It's a surprise." She said, handing me a bandana, "Cover your eyes."

I did as she said. After a few minutes of driving, she parked the car. I heard her door open, and then mine. She grabbed my hand and helped me out. She guided me to a building, and we walked inside, where she removed my blindfold.

We were at a small café, modeled after an Italian Diner.

"Ah! Helena!" A man at the counter said in a heavy Italian accent, "What a surprise! I thought you would be in school!"

"I was. Got bored. It's good to see you, Eddy." She replied, giving the man a hug.

"And who is your gentleman friend here?"

"This is Danny." She said, pulling me up to the counter, "Danny, this is Ednicio, Eddy, he's my godfather."

"Really? Is he like, your dad's second in command?" I asked her.

"Nope. He actually has nothing to do with the Family." She said, smiling. I was genuinely surprised by this. I had always thought that mob bosses wanted to keep their children in the Mob when they died.

"I think he needs some explanation." Eddy said, grinning, "You see, when her father was in Italy visiting some relatives, someone tried to have him killed. I, being a Good Samaritan, disarmed the would-be assassino. In exchange, Franco had me move here, got me this place, and has been a good friend of mine we are fratelli, he and I. But, enough of that, what can I get the two of you?"

"We will both have your special." Helena said, guiding me to a table.

"Ah, molto bene! Buono! It will be here shortly!" He said, as he went into the kitchen.


	17. Chapter 17

"Helena," I started to say, before being interrupted by her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about Barbara Gordon. Nor Robin or Batman, because guessing those two is easy now that I know about Batgirl. But Danny, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

She opened her mouth to speak, but Eddy brought the food out.

"Ah, Eddy, that smells delightful. As always." Helena said, picking up her fork as he put some kind of pasta on the table.

"I know you love it, Darling. You always do. Now the question is, will Daniel?" He replied in a cheery tone as the two of them turned eyes on me, waiting to see what I would think. I took a bite and was in absolute bliss. If heaven could be a food, this was it.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed with my mouth still full, getting quite the laugh from both Helena and Eddy. I ate a few more bites, but didn't get to enjoy it for long, because three shady men walked in.

"Ah, hello gentlemen! How may I help you?" Ednicio said, greeting them.

"We're here to get protection money." I heard the one in the lead say.

"What? You have the wrong place, sir. I am like a brother to Franco Bertinelli. He would never have me pay protection money.

"Well it's too bad," The guy said, snapping his fingers, issuing an order to spread out throughout the establishment, "that we ain't from Bertinelli. This place belongs to Carmine Falcone now, boss."

"This will not sit well with Bertinelli." Ednicio muttered, still standing firm. The ring-leader nodded to the others, and they started smashing furniture and stuff. Eddy opened his mouth in protest, but was punched hard in the gut by the Mobster. Helena and I stood up now.

"I suggest the two of you get outta here." The Mobster said, stepping aside so he wasn't blocking the door for us.

"No. My father-" Helena started to say before I covered her mouth. It would probably be better if they didn't know who she was.

"I'll handle this." I said, giving her a wink.

I walked towards the guy, who was giving Eddy a kick while he was on the ground. Before he could react to me, I grabbed a chair and busted it over the Mobster's head.

This got the attention of the others, and they closed around me. I picked up Eddy, and shoved him towards Helena.

"Take her to the back and call for help." I said, as I got in a fighting stance. The two of them ran quickly to the back.

Unfortunately, I didn't count on them being armed. The one farthest from me drew a small pistol from his jacket and took aim. I elbowed the one closest to me in the ribs, and threw a candlestick at the one with the gun.

I rolled over a table and turned it on its side, where I took cover. A gun went off, and there was a hole in the table next to my head. I picked up the table and charged it straight into the man with the gun, smashing him up against the wall. I threw the table aside and punched him in the nose a few times to knock him out.

I spun around just in time to catch the wrist of a man wielding a very large kitchen knife, trying to stab it in my back. I flipped around his arm, and twisted it behind his back. He dropped the knife, and I pushed his arm as hard as I could upward, breaking it. He cried out in pain as I spun him around and shoved him into two of the other men.

The one I had hit with the chair had recovered now, and was holding a broken chair shard like a dagger. He swung down hard on me, but was still a bit shaken, so I was easily able to divert this plunge to the side. I punched him in the ribs a few times, once more in the face, and then slammed him to the ground, where I kicked his head, rendering him unconscious.

There were only two left, so I decided to get flashy. I jumped off a table, vaulted off one's head, and karate chopped him in the collar bone. I kneed him in the gut, and threw him to the ground. I elbowed the one behind me in the kidney and flipped him around. I kneed him in the gut, and as he staggered over, elbowed him in the back of the head, instantly knocking him out.

As I finished, I heard slow clapping as Franco Bertinelli walked in.

"My, my, my." He said in a slightly impressed voice, "Now there's someone who knows how to fight."

Eddy and Helena came out of the back.

"Ednicio, mì fratello! Come give your brother a hug." Bertinelli said, opening his arms up. Eddy nearly dove into his arms. Helena walked up to my side and grabbed my hand.

"Eddy, I'm sorry about the furniture..." I said, realizing the damage I had caused.

"Ah! Don't be!" Ednicio said, grabbing my face in both his hands, "You saved me, my restaurant, and my god-daughter!" He then decided to kiss me on both cheeks.

"Yes... Daniel, was it?" Bertinelli butted in, "I can't repay you enough, saving my daughter and my brother. I will admit, I wasn't sure about you at first, but now you definitely have my permission to date my daughter."

I shook his hand.

"Thank you, sir." I said, looking over at Helena, who was smiling.

"Now, what to do with the idiots that attacked the one place they don't want to attack? But first, Helena, are you ok?"

"More than ok, Father." She said, hugging him. The men Bertinelli had brought took Falcone's men out back, and finally after about an hour of listening to Bertinelli and Eddy talk, Helena decided it was time to leave.

Once we were in her car, Helena got serious.

"Danny, promise me something." She said, a hint of anger in her voice.

"Like I said, anything." I replied with a smile.

"Promise me that you will take my father down," She growled out, looking into my eyes, "even if you have to kill him."

I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded.

She started to take me home, when I remembered I needed to go to Wayne manor to meet with Wonder Woman.

"Hey, drop me off just west of park row, will Ya?" I asked of her.

"Why?" She asked back.

"Hero stuff..." I answered pulling out my costume. I got into the back seat, and changed into it. I pulled my hood and scarf down as we approached the edge of park row.

"See ya tomorrow." I said to her, giving her a kiss. She nodded as I left the car, then she sped away.

I started running through the woods towards Wayne Manor. It didn't occur to me until I was about halfway there that heading to this place was a bad idea.

I didn't care though. About two thirds of the way to the Manor, I stopped in front of a secret entrance to the Batcave. I activated the signal emitter on my suit, and prayed that Batman hadn't changed the signal yet. Luckily for me, he hadn't yet, and the secret entrance opened.

I ran through the doorway that had just opened and leapt as far forward as I could once I hit the edge. I soared through the air, crashing though the waterfall, and hit the ground, rolling.

"Ah, Master Daniel," Alfred said, not sounding surprised to see me at all, "I was expecting you soon. I should've figured it would be when Diana was here."

"Alfred? Aren't you surprised or mad or something?" I asked him confused.

"Not at all. Master Bruce and Madame Diana are upstairs at the party."

"Party?"

"Yes, every so often, Master Bruce throws a big party. It's obviously so that people don't suspect him of being odd, but it reminds me of how things used to be."

"Thanks Alfred." I said, heading towards the stairs. Alfred stepped in front of me, blocking the way.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you up there, at least not dressed like that."

"Well what would you have me do? I don't have any fancy clothes."

"Well it's a good thing that Master Bruce had me make you a suit. It should be over there, in that wardrobe." Alfred said, pointing to a nearly empty area of the Batcave.

I headed slowly over there, wondering what that area might be. When I got there, I now fully saw it. It was pretty much just a wardrobe and a hammock. I opened the wardrobe and saw that it only contained one thing, which was the suit. I quickly changed into it.

"How do I look?" I asked Alfred once I was done changing.

"Quite dashing, if I do say so myself, Master Daniel. If there were any women there your age, they would probably agree with me." He answered me.

"Alfred, you're too kind." I said with a wink, "So where's Bruce?"

"The ballroom, I'd assume, watching Madame Diana fraternize with the fellow guests."

"Oh? Is he not also talking with her?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Doesn't want to blow his cover. Occasionally they will, but most of the time they don't. Anyhow, I shan't keep you any longer, go on up." Alfred said as he moved aside. I gave him a nod and headed up.

I exited the Batcave through the wine cellar. I figured no one would be near that entrance, considering that they probably already had a ton of wine up there.

I headed in the direction of the balcony that was in the ballroom. Bruce would probably be sulking up there, and if he wasn't, I would at least be able to find him from up there.

I was correct. He was the only one up there. He was leaning on the balcony, looking over it at the crowd of people in the room below. I approached him, and took the same position on his right.

"Hey there, Bruce." I said, acting like everything was all cool between us.

"Daniel." He greeted back, obviously distracted. I followed his gaze to a Miss Diana of Themyscira. I smiled and started laughing.

"So THATS' one of Batman's girl problems?" I said, mocking him. He smiled, and then turned to me.

"At least mine is less obvious." He said jokingly.

"So, you aren't mad at me?"

"No. You bested both Batgirl and Robin. Sure, you roughed them both up, but you proved to me that you weren't going to stop being a hero, murderer or not."

I was silent after this. I couldn't help it. I didn't know what to say. Bruce just laughed.

"C'mon, let's get to the party. If I'm gone too long, people will notice." He said, nudging me towards the stairs that lead to the ballroom below.

Once we got down there, people were all over Bruce. Talking to him mostly, but I lost him in the crowd. I decided to go drink a little. I may have never gotten an opportunity like this again, so I wanted to take advantage of it.

I headed over to the refreshment table and poured myself a glass of wine. I took a sip. It was bitter-sweet, and tasted somewhat like grapes. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either.

"Aren't you a little young for drinking?" A familiar voice asked from the other side of the table. I spun around to look into the brown eyes of Wonder Woman.

"Hey, I think I deserve it. It's not everyday you get that guy's respect." I answered, pointing at Bruce.

"True. And though I don't approve of it, I shall do nothing to stop you." She said, picking up a glass and leaning on the table right next to me. She was wearing a long, tight, glittery, blue dress, which I got a good view of while she sat next to me. "So, you're him? The Dayhound?"

I finished my glass, and answered her by winking at her. There was something about her that made me try to be more flirty around her. I know, she was too old for me and way out of my league, but I considered myself quite the big shot at that moment.

"Perfect. You're... Different than I expected." She said with a smile.

"Is that good or bad?" I asked.

"Good. You're younger than I thought you would be. Which means that your already good fighting skills can be improved. I also didn't expect you to be the kid on the bus next to me."

"I see. So, tell me, what are you doing here? Not that I don't mind if you are here, it's just, it doesn't seem like the super hero thing to do, come to a Bruce Wayne party."

"Well, 'Bruce' has donated a lot of money to the Justice League, practically funded the Watchtower, so this is just our way of thanking him."

"Makes sense, I suppose."

"So, Daniel, what are you to Bruce? Dick is his legal ward, and Barbara is Dick's best friend, but what are you?"

"I get the pleasure of being his other Butler." I said with a smile.

Diana opened her mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by Bruce, who came next to me.

"Daniel. I need you in the cave." He said, seriously.

"But-"

"Now."

I waved said goodbye to Diana, who thought it was a good idea to embarrass me more by winking at me, and started to follow Bruce to the wine cellar.

"Bruce?" I asked him.

"What?"

"In the cave, there is a small area where there is almost nothing. What is it for?"

"You. That's your part of the cave." He said, still walking slightly in front of me. I was awestruck. I didn't know what to say, so Bruce continued talking. "I figured that since you don't have the best home life, you may need a place to escape to. So I made you a spot in the cave."

We stopped talking as we entered the cave. Alfred was sitting in the chair at the Batcomputer, his head in his hands. He noticed us, then stood up.

"Ah, Master Daniel... I don't know how to tell you this." He started to say.

"Let me handle it, Alfred." Batman said, putting a hand on Alfred's shoulder, "Black Mask has captured a number of Wayne Incorporated's employees... Including your mother..."

I was in horror at this news. All I could do was sit there, mouth wide open.


	18. Chapter 18

"What the hell do you mean?" I yelled, regaining my thoughts

"Master Daniel, please calm down." Alfred said, taking a step towards me, "She may not have been kidnapped. She may just be at home. Why don't you go check?"

"I'll even loan you a motorcycle." Bruce offered.

I agreed, and rushed home. Everything happened so quickly. I burst through the door. Kam was sitting on the couch, his face in one hand and a note in the other.

"Danny?" He said as I rushed in.

"Where's mom?" I demanded, rushing towards him.

"She's... Been taken."

"Dammit. He was right." I said to myself.

"Who was?"

"Never mind. Where's Slad- I mean dad?"

"I don't know... He never came home either." He said, sounding like he was about to cry.

Without saying anything further, I ran into our room. Kam tried to follow me, but I slammed the door in his face. I quickly changed into my costume and opened the window when he got in.

"D-Danny? What are you doing?" He asked, clearly shocked at who I was. I pulled down my scarf and hood.

"I'm going to find mom. Don't follow me. You'll only get hurt." I commanded him.

"No, I won't lose you too!" He said, attempting to tackle me. I side-stepped and elbowed him in the back, knocking him to the floor.

"I know what I'm doing, Kam. I'll be back with mom." I said, stepping out the window onto the fire escape. I pulled out my grapple gun and fired it across the street.

After running across a few rooftops, I called Alfred.

"Master Daniel, I thought I might hear from you soon." He said as he picked up.

"Where's my mother?" I asked sternly.

"I can't tell you for sure, but there has been some suspicious activity down by amusement mile. It's a possibility. Sending you the address now."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Master Daniel, wait!"

"What?"

"Be careful. Master Bruce will not be there. You are on your own. Please use caution."

After he said that, I hung up. I decided to take that bike that Bruce had loaned me to amusement mile. It was simply too far away for me to run.

I knew it was the right place when I saw Deathstroke pass in front of a window of the building. It appeared to be an old hotel. In reality, it was probably just a drug factory. It didn't matter at the time. All I knew is that my mother was in there, and I would stop at nothing to save her.

I entered through a third floor window. The floor that Deathstroke was one. It would be the one least guarded. I tried to sneak inside, but was ambushed by my father. He kicked me in the face, which sent me flying across the room into the wall.

"You weren't supposed to come here, Danny. It was supposed to be Batman." He said, pulling a retractable staff like Robin's from his belt.

"Shut up!" I yelled at him after quickly getting back to my feet. I lunged at him, swinging my bat downward toward his head. He threw up his staff and blocked it, then kicked me again. Every move I attacked him with was blocked. I was too slow. Any normal human was too slow. Every tactic I used was countered. I was too dumb. Every normal human was too dumb. Deathstroke couldn't be beaten. So I stopped trying to best him.

I threw wild swings and left myself open to plenty of attacks. Right now, I was trying to confuse him. I charged him to get him to move where I wanted, right next to the window. I wildly swung to his left, which was blocked. Exactly what I wanted. I grabbed his pistol from the holster on his right hip. I expected him to block my hand, but this was a tactic he didn't predict. I shot his foot, then kicked him square in the chest, sending him tumbling out the window. I knew he would survive, but he would at least be out cold for a few hours.

I proceeded downstairs, where the hostages were. There was probably three guards, all of which didn't have guns. I was able to knock them all out before they even realized what was happening.

I headed into the next room, where all the hostages were. The first person I laid eyes on was my mother. I wasn't thinking, and ran up and hugged her.

"Um... Is this how you treat all the hostages you rescue?" She asked awkwardly. I remembered that she couldn't see my face.

I quickly got off of her.

"Sorry ma'm, I uh... Don't know what came over me." I replied in a deep voice.

"Wait, Dan? Is that...?" She asked as I cut her free. I didn't respond as I started to cut everyone else free.

"Alright everyone, follow me. First floor." I said, motioning for everyone to come. They all followed me to the first floor. When we hit the lobby, I thought we were home free. Until I stepped outside.

To greet us, were a bunch of goons, all of which had clown masks on.

"Welcome to amusement mile." One of them said, stepping forward. I motioned for everyone to step back as I drew my bat. The majority of the time I did this, the thugs I fought seemed angry, or even scared. These people didn't. They laughed.

The one who had spoken to me lunged forward, pulling a meat cleaver from his coat. He slashed down towards me, but I threw up my bat in both hands to block it. I kicked him in the knee. I could've sworn that I didn't kick him hard enough to break his knee, but for some reason it did. As my foot hit it, I heard an unsettling crunch as my foot didn't stop until about a foot from where it should've. The man cried out in pain, then did something scary. He took his cleaver and buried it deep in his own neck.

Shocked at this action, I jumped back. My mother threw up, and all the other civilians ran for it, some of them ended up getting shot, but most got away. The group of psychos dispersed, chasing after those who ran away. There were only five of us left standing there. My mother, three thugs, and me.

I quickly recovered as pandemonium broke out. Two of the remaining joker thugs charged me, screaming hysterically. I smacked one with my bat as he drew near, clothes lining him into the ground. I prepared for the next one, but he never came. Instead, I heard a gunshot, and saw the man fall. The last man standing was holding a long barreled revolver. He removed his clown mask to reveal his true identity.

The clown prince of crime. The Batman's greatest foe. Gotham's worst sin. The Joker. How many children had he orphaned? How many women had he widowed? The answer, no one knows. I had never seen his face until now, and it was more horrifying than I thought it would be. His shaggy green hair blowing in the wind, his piercing green eyes seemed to be glowing. His pale white skin was highlighted by the moonlight. To top it all off, a long, Crimson mouth, forever twisted into a sickening smile. He was wearing a ragged purple suit that was possibly hiding an unknown number of traps and weapons. And he was walking slowly towards me.

As he walked, he put his gun away. He drew from his coat a crowbar, and starting laughing a laugh that still haunts my dreams.

"My, aren't you the fun one?" He said, still giggling like a maniac, "Most of Batman's freaks don't come without him."

"Shut up..." I muttered, trying not to sound completely terrified.

"I'm going to have fun killing you."

Without saying a word, i leapt forward, swinging my bat towards his head. He just let it hit, then swung his crowbar down on my shoulder. I felt excruciating pain as I looked over to see that the prongs on it had dug into my shoulder. I fell to my knees as he yanked it out, pulling as much flesh as he could with it.

"Cmon now, the fun's just starting!" He yelled at me as he kicked me in the gut, sending me upwards. He shoulder checked me backwards into a brick wall behind me. I dropped my bat and it rolled away. I nearly collapsed to the ground, but was caught by the Joker, who was now brandishing a six-inch long switch blade.

"You're a disappointment." He angrily muttered, still smiling, as he drew his arm back to stab me in the throat. I closed my eyes, and waited for my death, but it never came. Instead, my mother had grabbed my bat and was hitting the Joker, screaming something about not touching her son. I was losing blood fast, but I opened my eyes and forced myself to stand up. I was just in time to see my mother get stabbed.

"Mom!" I screamed as the Joker ran away laughing. I ran to her body, tears streaming down my face as I removed my scarf and hood.

"Danny..." She said, losing her life fast.

"Mom... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" I cried out, hugging her tightly.

"For what?" She asked weakly.

"For this. It's all my fault!" I screamed at myself.

"Danny. Don't be sorry. I am so proud of you."

I was too busy crying to say anything.

"Daniel. I have never been more proud of you than I am right now. You're a hero."

"No, I'm not. A hero could've saved you."

"Danny, shut up. You risked your life to save those people, and you did save a lot of them. You are a hero. Promise me..."

"Promise you what?!" I cried out, cradling her in my arms.

"Promise... Me that you will always do what you think is right. No matter if Batman, or Superman, or even Kameron starts to be bad. You always have to be a hero. You will go through many challenges... You will suffer greatly, you will even go through what most would consider hell. But you can never give up. Promise."

"I... I promise." I whispered softly, stroking her hair.

"I... I... Love y-" She started to say before her eyes closed. She went limp, then cold. I heard police sirens in the distance, and knew that I had to get out of there as fast as I could. Despite the tears I was crying, despite the pain I felt, I ran. I ran as fast as I could home.


	19. Epilogue

I managed to get to my building without passing out. I ran up the stairs, praying that no one would see me. To my luck, no one did. Burst into my apartment, still bleeding.

"Danny! What the hell happened?" Kam exclaimed as I stumbled in, "Where's mom?"

"Listen Kam." I said in a stern voice, "I need you to act natural. The police will be here any minute, and you need to act like I've been here the whole time."

"What do you mean? Why are the police coming?"

"I'll explain later. Just... Promise me."

"I promise."

I ran into our room and grabbed my pajamas. I ran into the bathroom and took off my costume. I started to use toilet paper to stop the bleeding. As I heard footsteps come up the stairs below me, onto the floor below me, I hopped quickly in the shower. I washed all the grime and blood off of me, and quickly changed into my pajamas. I exited the bathroom, just as my brother let Commissioner Gordon in.

"Hello boys." He said in a grave tone. His thick glasses reflected off the light at just the right angle that made it impossible to see his eyes. "Mind if I, uh... Sit down?"

"No, not at all." Kam said, acting completely normal. The Commissioner sat down, we sat across from him. He wrung his hands in thought, trying to find the words. Kam gave me a questioning look, but then turned back as the Commissioner spoke.

"Boys," he said, avoiding eye contact, "I don't know how to say this... You're mother, she's... Been murdered tonight." As soon as the words came out, Kam broke down. I acted very surprised, and started crying, but not like Kameron. He was crying like I had been as she died.

"I'm sorry... It appears that she was killed in a conflict with the Joker as she was coming out of a building after being rescued by a vigilante."

No answer from either of us.

"We also can't locate your father, so we may have to take you two to an orphanage. But for now, you two are my responsibility."

The next few weeks seemed to be a blur. Because Kam was one of the best players on the Gotham Wolves, the whole story got good press coverage. Before long, Kam was doing interviews on various talk shows, Commissioner Gordon had organized a manhunt on the Joker, and Bruce Wayne had given a press conference, announcing that he would take us in as our legal guardian, stating that 'he felt partially responsible.' Honestly, the whole press conference was crap, but it made sense. That way, he could train me even more, watch my every move, make sure I didn't turn into a psycho murderer, and make sure I didn't give his identity away.

I refused to talk to any press. I didn't think it was ok. We weren't the first kids orphaned by the Joker, and we certainly wouldn't be the last.

I stopped taking my meds. I think Kam stopped taking his too, at least, when he didn't have a press conference that week. He always looked in worse condition than me in those weeks. I didn't know a whole lot about schizophrenia at the time, but I knew that it was a whole lot worse than depression. Occasionally, I thought about asking Kameron the kind of stuff he saw, but every time I almost did, I felt like I shouldn't.

His social life started to diminish as well. He stopped hanging out with friends, he stopped going to football practice everyday. He started skipping school, and getting bad grades. He even stopped hanging out with Megan. I was worried about him, and I definitely wasn't the only one.

Megan, Coach Crock, and Kam's friends all approached me at least twice each to express this worry, and ask if they could help in any way.

Weeks grew into months, and soon, winter had already passed. I had devoted my whole life to two people: Bruce and Helena. On weekdays, I would go to school and hang with Helena all day, then I would go back home to Wayne Manor and train until seven p.m. I would then go to Helena's house and stay there for a while (every so often we went out though), then I would come home, get changed, and head out with Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. There was three times the training on weekends.

By the time spring break hit, I could fight just as good as Robin and was twice as strong. I had lost my bat on the night my mother died, so Batman got me a new and improved one. It was twice as strong, was custom fitted for my hands, and could collapse somewhat, making it a third of it's size. I also, by that time, no longer wanted to kill the Joker. I did want to hurt him, but not kill him. I wanted to see him brought to justice. He would live his whole life behind bars if I ever saw him again.

Unfortunately, I had to deal with an even bigger issue before that...

End of Book One.

**Author's note**

Thank you so much for reading! I know the releasing of this story was kind of slow, but I blame that on writer's block, as well as my own depression. Overall, I enjoyed writing this. The next fanfic I write will be the second part of the Dayhound books. I am taking an interesting twist on this one by making it not only from Danny's perspective, but Kameron's as well, considering how he will play a much bigger role in the next book.

Join us next time for book two in the Dayhound Chronicles: "The Gemini: Day and Night"


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